Knightshade
by Blackbird
Summary: A surprise visit from an old friend leads to a very big change in Barbara Gordon's life.
1. The Confession

**Disclaimer: **_The Characters from "The Batman" are owned by DC Comics, Warner Bros., Bob Kane and God knows how many other people by now. This is a story done purely for fun and not to make profit whatsoever. Any original characters that may appear belong to the writer and can be used with permission. _

**Knightshade**

**Chapter 1: The Confession**

Barbara let out a tired sigh as she dragged herself into her dorm room. She stumbled her way over to her bed where she dropped her backpack next to it before she slipped out of her shoes and plopped down onto the welcoming mattress. She moaned softly as her overworked muscles slowly started to relax, tension built up from the day's classes and studying finally melting away. She knew college wasn't going to be a cake walk but she never expected it to be _this_ hard. Mostly it was all the homework piling up on itself. Like ever professor thought that _their_ class was the only one that people had to do stuff for. It was all a bit stressful and irritating.

Of course it might not have been _as_ stressful if weren't for her..."night job". While she knew plenty of college students who went to class _and_ had jobs none of them really had the kind of job she had. And despite what they might think there was _no_ boss as demanding as hers.

_Speaking of whom, I'm sure he's expecting me to show up for patrol duty here soon,_ she thought. _Stupid study groups running late. Don't they have any respect for the nocturnal crime fighter?_

She sighed then looked over at the clock on the desk near her bed.

_Well I still have a little while before I have to punch in, maybe I can just get a quick...little...nap..._

Her eyes slowly drooped down with each word before they were finally closed and she slowly started to drift off to sleep. She had just fallen into a good sleeping rhythm when a light tapping sound woke her right back up. She furrowed her brow in annoyance and tried to ignore it but unfortunately it persisted.

_What _is_ that?_ She wondered. _Sounds like it's coming from the window. Probably just some drunk frat boy trying to play a prank or something. _

She rolled over onto her side in an attempt to get away from the sound in hopes that the irritating intruder would go away and pester some other girl's window. Her eyes popped wide open when she finally realized what was wrong with that line of thought.

"Waitaminute! I'm on the fourth floor!" she remarked in confusion.

She rolled onto her back again before she jumped off the bed, now fully awake and on full alert. All the senses she had honed as a super hero were telling her that something dangerous was just beyond the drawn shades of the window. She briefly glanced at the underside of the bed where her spare backpack with her Batgirl costume was safely stored and she considered a quick change before pulling back the shades, but she decided against it. That might give away her secret identity and that's certainly not what she needed to deal with right now. So she just had to hope that whoever, or whatever, was outside her window didn't want to put up a fight right now. Or abducted her. She _hated_ when that happened.

She kept her heart rate down as she slowly approached the window, the tapping growing a little more urgent. She paused for a second as she rested her hand on the drawstring and steeled her nerves one finale time. Despite her preparation she still let out a surprised gasp at the sight that met her once she pulled back the shades. Poison Ivy was lounging on a large vine right outside her window and waving at her. Before the stunned Barbara could react, a smaller vine grew out of the main one and pried her window open. It was only when Ivy started to crawl through her window that Barbara finally snapped out of her daze. Part of her wanted to try to tackle Ivy to the floor and hold her until backup could arrive. Unfortunately, that was the Batgirl part of her and once again she could risk giving away her identity so instead she took the Barbara Gordon action which was to try to get out of the room and go for help.

That plan didn't work either as Ivy's vine snaked around the room to cut her off and place the plant based girl right in front of her. She stopped dead in her tracks and glared up at her former best friend who was still smiling at her.

"Hiya Red. What's happening?" Ivy asked casually.

Barbara blinked, legitimately stumped by the friendly greeting. She continued to think it over for a few seconds, trying to figure out what the villainess was up to. Finally she blurted out the only thing that came to mind.

"What?!" she asked in confusion.

Ivy chuckled softly before she stepped off her vine so she could stand in front of the smaller girl.

"Been awhile, hasn't it?" she remarked.

That remark seemed to break Barbara out of her daze and she crossed her arms over her chest as she narrowed her eyes at the other redhead.

"Since what, the _last_ time you tried to kidnap my father?" she growled.

Ivy took a step back, surprised by the cutting remark. She then let out a soft sigh as she looked down at the floor.

"I guess I deserve that," she muttered.

"You guess? You _guess_?!" Barbara shouted in anger. "You tried to feed him to a plant! Then you replaced him with some weird plant copy and tried to do the same thing to _me_!"

"Right there is that," the green girl nodded.

"Not to mention how you became 'Poison Ivy' in the first place. You know when you left me alone at the giant, metal hands of Temblor?!"

"Hey I panicked, alright?! It's not like _meant_ for him to find me. Or for _you_ to find me for that matter."

"Oh they were _secret _eco-terrorist acts! Well _that_ makes it perfectly fine!" Barbara shouted as she threw her hands up in disbelief.

"Well if you weren't such a little daddy's girl maybe I would have asked you to join me," Ivy shot back as she placed her hands on her hips. "In fact, when I first became Poison Ivy I _did_ ask you to join me! And what did you do? You went crying to daddy who of course went to the _Bat_ who of course had me taken away to Arkham."

_Actually I just went to Batman,_ the younger redhead thought quickly.

She then focused her attention to the person right in front of her. Her face took on a more compassionate look as she reflected on what Ivy had just said. She took a cautious step forward, wanting to show her former friend she was still concerned for her but not give her enough room to try something.

"Okay, fine, maybe I _did_ do that but I did it to _help_ you," she insisted. "And you _need_ help. I mean look at all the things you've done since you became Ivy!"

"What? Try to make the world safer for plants? I don't see how _that's_ so bad," Ivy remarked and cocked her right hip.

"No that's not bad, but trying to replace people with plants? Helping Lex Luthor take down Superman?! How is _that_ helping the plants?!"

The green girl cocked an eyebrow. "How do you know about that?"

_Shoot! That's right, I wasn't involved with that one,_ Barbara thought in a panic. _So how would I...waitaminute that's easy!_

"Hello! Commissioner's daughter, remember? I overheard him going over the case file," she said quickly.

"Yeah you don't need to remind _me_ you're the commish's kid," Ivy muttered as she crossed her arms over her chest and turned to the side.

Barbara studied her for a moment. "Is _that_ what this is about? Some sort of revenge scheme against, me, my dad, and Batman? Are you trying to abduct me to set up some kind of trap? Cause if you are I gotta admit it's pretty much made of fail at this point."

An accusatory look crossed Ivy's face and she balled her fists up in anger.

"I didn't come here to abduct you!" she growled vehemently.

The younger girl was taken by surprise by the sudden outburst. She quickly regained her wits though and continued to stare suspiciously at her former friend.

"Okay if you didn't come here to abduct me then why _did _you come here?" she asked.

It was then that Barbara saw dramatic change in Ivy's composure. The frustrated look of annoyance almost instantly faded from her face and was replaced by one of uncertainty. She began to rub her left arm nervously as her eyes darted around the room, almost as if she were unable to look at the shorter redhead at the moment. Her toes curled into the short fabric of the dull grey carpet and she desperately wished she was back outside in some luscious field somewhere.

_Well Pam you've come this far, time to just go for it,_ she thought in determination.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath that she held for a moment before she let it out slowly. When she reopened her eyes, they glowed with an eerie green light as they focused on Barbara.

"I'm here to just talk. You know, as your friend Pamela Isley. Remember her?" she asked a bit snidely.

"Do _you_?" Barbara shot back, again crossing her arms over her chest.

"Okay, fine I deserve that," Ivy held her hands up in defeat. "But just give me a few minutes and I'll be out of here."

While her suspicion was still on high, the younger girl nodded nonetheless.

"Alright then," the green villainess started. "I'm sure you remember that I'm not very fond of...well...people."

"Yeah, I kinda picked up on that."

Ivy glared at her and Barbara just held up her hands to show she was going to stay quite. The older redhead nodded then continued.

"Because of that little...quirk I didn't really have many friends. Well not human friends at least. Plants have always seemed to like me, even before my make over," she smiled a bit at that last remark. "But when it came to human beings I just didn't know how to deal with them." A soft smile crossed her face as she seemed to look at Barbara for the first time that night. "Then I met you. You were the only one to ever really get how important plants were to me."

Now it was Barbara's turn to be a bit uncomfortable. There was just something about the way Ivy was looking at her that made her a bit nervous. She fidgeted a bit under the strange gaze and took a step back.

"Well...you know...plants are important to the whole world, right?" she mumbled.

"Exactly!" the green girl said happily. "No one else really understood that. But you got it Red! You really understood. It was one of the things I liked about you." Her short lived excitement disappeared as her own nervousness returned. "It was one of the things I _really_ liked about you. In fact...over time I came to realize that I just _really_ liked you. Really, _really_ liked you."

The redhead cocked an eyebrow in confusion before they both shot up and her brown eyes went wide when the meaning of those words finally sunk in. She continued to stare unblinkingly for several seconds as she rolled the idea around in her head. After a very long, agonizing pause, she finally shut her eyes and shook her head to try to clear it.

"You're not talking about in a platonic way, are you?" she asked even though she felt she already knew the answer.

"Not at all," Ivy said with a slight shake of her head. "Trust me I _know_ this is pretty shocking."

"I don't think you do!" Barbara shot back.

"Okay fine, maybe I don't get how _you_ feel but obviously you don't get how _I_ feel either."

"Yeah...you got a point there," she sighed. "Sorry I didn't mean to sound harsh but...this is a _lot,_ you know?"

Ivy nodded and took a step closer. "I do. Trust me I thought about this for a good long while. In fact I _almost_ let the whole thing go, but I..."

"You...what?" the other Red asked cautiously.

"I just...had to tell you have a felt," Ivy confessed, wringing her hands together uneasily. "Even if you say 'no' I just couldn't get on with my life without getting it out there." She then took a deep breath and returned to her usual confident self. "So there it is. It's a lot to take in I know and I'm not going to ask you for an answer yet, mostly because I should really get moving before the cops or Batman find my trail. We _will_ talk about this later though, but before I leave I wanted to give you something to remember me by."

She called back her vine and directed it under her right hand. With a simple thought as small pink and white flower bud sprouted out of it. Ivy plucked it from the vine then closed the gap between her and Barbara. She smiled softly as she placed it behind her former friend's right ear, all while Barbara just continued to stared forward in complete shock.

"Remember the first time I gave you one of these?" Ivy asked softly.

"Umm...yeah," she replied in a distant voice even as she blushed slightly.

The plant-like femme fatal smiled brightly and took a step back onto the vine to leave. It had just started to recoil through the window but suddenly stopped. With a small shrug Ivy mentally commanded it to bring her back in front of Barbara where she clasped her hands on both sides of the stunned girl's face and pulled her into a heated kiss. Barbara's eyes become as wide as saucers and her mind completely blanked under the unexpected, and surprisingly strong, kiss. She was sure it felt like it lasted longer than it actually did but by the time Ivy pulled back, she nearly fell over from shock.

Ivy smirked as long as Barbara could see her and she was very thankful that the kiss had put her in such a daze so she wouldn't see the frightened look on her face as the vine pulled her through the window. She cast one last look at her former best friend and current object of her affection, not really sure what would happen now but hoping it would all end well. Then she was gone, riding the vine away from Gotham University and to a place where she could hide while thinking what exactly she wanted to do next.

Barbara didn't notice at all. She just continued to stare ahead at the faded oak door to her dorm room and thanked every deity out there that Kara hadn't walked in on any of that. She didn't think she'd be able to explain to her roommate why she was talking with the dangerous and wanted criminal Poison Ivy or why said criminal was _kissing her_! That in itself seemed to replay ad nauseam in her head until the point where she thought it would explode. Finally, somehow, she was able to push it down and try to actually _think_ about what happened and just what to do about it. Still there was just one lingering question in her confused mind:

"What just happened?" she asked herself out loud.

She shook her head again to _try_ to clear it then reached up and pulled the flower bud from her ear. As she stared at it's familiar looking petals, she recalled the first time Ivy put such a flower behind her ear. Just like now she had been confused by what her friend had done but this time there were _so_ many more levels to it. Also like before she knew she had to do _something _but she wasn't really sure _what_. Her first instinct was to suit up and chase after Ivy but that wasn't really a good idea at the moment. There was no telling what she'd do when she caught up to her or what she might say.

What _could_ she say? Ivy was apparently in love with her and she...she wasn't really sure _how_ she felt about her. Even with all that happened between them she never really _hated_ Ivy and actually felt guilty for not helping her more after she became Batgirl. She just got caught up in the whole hero gig.

_Yeah like _that's _a good excuse,_ chided herself then sighed. _I just...need to think this out._

She walked over to the bed and collapsed onto it once again. She crossed her arms behind her head and she stared up at the faded white drop title ceiling for several seconds. She still couldn't make heads or tails out of the situation and trying to was giving her a headache. So she did what she always did in situations like this; she turned to her trusty MP3 player. Thankfully she kept it laying on top of the desk near the bed incase she needed some help with some late night studying or just wanted to relax. This was definitely a time for the latter. She placed the ear buds inside her ears and turned the small device on, letting it run on the "Random" setting. She was a little surprised when the first few cords of Michelle Branch's "All You Wanted" started to play as it seemed rather fitting for the situation.

Still she barely paid attention to the song as she closed her eyes and thought back to the first time she met Pamela Isley. It was actually her first day at a high school in Gotham, having just moved there when her dad took over as commissioner of the police. This added the stigma of her not only being the new girl in town but also the daughter of the highest ranking cop in the city. Not exactly the credentials to make her friend fodder. By lunch she resigned herself to spend the rest of the day, and probably the week, alone when Pam sat down beside her. She had to admit she was a little surprised by this turn of events. Not only was someone sitting with her but the girl was a full grade ahead of her. She was actually a bit flattered and now she had to admit, once they got to taking, a bit smitten. Pam just seemed so cool.

The more they talked the more they realized they had in common and before Barbara knew it she was helping Pam with her "protests".

_I wanted to be like you  
I wanted everything  
So I tried to be like you  
And I got swept away_

Of course back then she didn't know they were secretly scouting missions for Pam's hired thug Temblor. Actually she figured the reason her friend when out on all these protests and acted out enough to earn herself a juvie record was get some attention from her rather absentee mother. Barbara never did find out what happened to Pam's father but she knew her mother took it hard and seemed to pay little attention to her daughter save when she acted out or needed the trash taken out. Thinking about it now it was probably the reason why Pam spent so much time with plants, at least they acknowledged her more her own mother did. It was a situation Barbara wished she could have done more to help with.

_I didn't know that it was so cold  
And you needed someone  
to show you the way  
So I took your hand and we figured out  
That when the time comes  
I'd take you away_

Course at the time the only thing she _could_ think to do to help was spend time with Pam and be the best friend she could. To show her that not _all_ people are bad or neglectful like her parents or even some of the jerks at school. Show her that there was actually _was _some goodness in humanity and maybe help her soften up just a bit and maybe reconnect with people.

_If you want to  
I can save you  
I can take you away from here  
So lonely inside  
So busy out there  
And all you wanted  
was somebody who cares_

Little did she know that she was just a pawn in Pam's little espionage games against the polluting corporations of the world. Or at least those ones in Gotham. It wasn't that she _completely_ disagreed with her she just wasn't sure about the methods. Especially using a thug with special oven mits that helped him bring down a building. Storming an office was one thing, completely destroying it was _quite_ another.

Then there was the accident that led to their present situation. The mutual one that turned Pam Isley into Poison Ivy and Barbara Gordon into Batgirl and completely changed their relationship forever.

_I'm sinking slowly  
So hurry hold me  
Your hand is all I have to keep me hanging on  
Please can you tell me  
So I can finally see  
Where you go when you're gone_

It had seemed so simple when she thought of it. Don a costume, get help from the Batman, convince Ivy to give up and get her the help she needed to get better. That was the plan. It wasn't much of a plan but it was a _good_ plan. Until she realized that Pam actually _liked_ being Ivy and wanted to over-run Gotham with plants. That's sort of when things started to fall apart.

_If you want to  
I can save you  
I can take you away from here  
So lonely inside  
So busy out there  
And all you wanted  
was somebody who cares_

True, she and Batman did defeat Ivy then and a few other times but really she wasn't actually _helping_ her. Obviously Arkham wasn't doing much good but she didn't know what else she could do. Maybe she should have gone to visit her a few times but that was easier said than done. She would need her father's permission to go into Arkham and she doubted very much he would give her that. Besides she was too busy with school and...being Batgirl.

Maybe that was the problem. She had originally become Batgirl to help her friend but over time she got caught up in the thrill of crime fighting and saw her friend less and less as Pam and more as just Ivy. If she had taken in the interest she _should_ have maybe Pam would still be here.

_All you wanted was somebody who cares  
If you need me you know I'll be there  
Oh, yeah_

But there was obviously some part of Pam still in there. The part of her that..._liked_ Barbara. In a way that Barbara herself wasn't even sure how to deal with. It wasn't that she was _against_ gay people or anything, far from it. She just wasn't sure _she_ was one of them or that she could return Ivy's feelings. But maybe she could at least use them to convince her to get the help she needed.

_If you want to  
I can save you  
I can take you away from here_

_So lonely inside  
So busy out there  
And all you wanted  
was somebody who cares_

But would that be her being a real friend or just manipulating Ivy's emotions for her own goals. Even if they _were_ in Ivy's best interests. Still she wouldn't feel right about that. If she _were_ to play to Ivy's feelings she wanted them to be genuine. Again to show her that people really _could_ care about other people. Anything else would destroy that trust and turn her against people forever. Barbara couldn't live with herself is she caused that to happen.

_If you want to  
I can save you  
I can take you away from here_

_So lonely inside  
So busy out there  
And all you wanted  
was somebody who cares_

But that just led her back to the original question: how did _she_ feel about Ivy? Well if she really had to sit down and thing about it she had to admit that, even with the green skin, Ivy _was_ kind of attractive. In fact the green skin is what made her unique and kind of...alluring. The leafy dress was an interesting choice and complimented her petite figure rather well. A figure that wasn't unappealing and one Barbara could actually appreciate. But to appreciate it _that_ much?

Well that was the thing. She wasn't really willing to just say "no" but wasn't sure if she was ready to say "yes" either. It was a _big_ life change in so many ways. Not the _least_ of which included the fact that this girl was a wanted super criminal that she herself was going to have to help to bring in once they found out where exactly she was. And even when they did...she still wasn't sure just what she was going to do.

_Please can you tell me  
So I can finally see  
Where you go when you're gone _

Barbara let out a long, sad sigh as she hit the "Pause" button on her MP3 player and rolled over onto her side, burying her face sad deeply as she could in the pillow. She held the small purple device up to her eye line and stared at the dim screen which still showed the title of the last song.

"Well _that_ didn't help one bit," she muttered.

**To Be Continued...**

**Author's Notes: **Well here it is! After a little more than a year of talking about this fic I'm _finally_ getting around to writing it! Yeesh! I really _did_ want to get to this thing sooner but you know how real life can be. Still as Babs herself once said "This is just the beginning" so you guys should stick around for it! Honestly I usually say more here but I can't think of much else other than to thank my friend Festum, or Trackula here on FF.N, for helping me out with the title. It's a bit of a pun which I think should be obvious but if you don't get it just ask me and I'll tell you.

The only other thing I can think to say is that this story is obviously going to be a slash story so if you don't like that stuff you should probably leave now. Oh and those who don't like songfics should probably leave too as I have at least two more songs to fit into this thing. Much like the use of Michelle Branch's "All You Wanted" I plan to make them actually fit well with the scenes. Or at least try really hard to. And yes I actually _do_ like that song and for some reason I just see it fitting these two and thus that's why I used it.

Well that's all for me for now, hopefully it won't be too long before the second chapter is out but I wouldn't recommend holding your breaths.

Later all!


	2. The Consideration

**Disclaimer: **_The Characters from "The Batman" are owned by DC Comics, Warner Bros., Bob Kane and God knows how many other people by now. This is a story done purely for fun and not to make profit whatsoever. Any original characters that may appear belong to the writer and can be used with permission. _

**Knightshade**

**Chapter 2: The Consideration**

Two days after Ivy's surprise visit, Barbara's thoughts were still preoccupied by what her former friend told her. To say nothing of what she actually _did._ She still wasn't sure exactly _how_ she felt about Ivy. Or rather Pam. Of course Pam _was _Ivy and really that was just the _tip_ of the emotional iceberg. Even after she figured out which side was attracted to her, she had to figure out if she could actually _return_ that attraction. As odd as it was _that_ was the part that was really messing with her head. She wasn't ready to say flat out "No" like she thought she would but she wasn't quite ready to say "Yes" either. It was all _very_ confusing.

A lot of that confusion came from the fact that she never really thought who she was attracted to. Mostly because she was too busy with school work, gymnastics training, convincing her dad to let her quit gymnastics to start police training, and of course lately the super hero gig. So most of her down time was spent relaxing and sleeping and trying to get her energy back. Which of course left her with little energy to think about dating and relationships. Although now it seemed like that was _all_ she could think about.

_This whole thing is just so...sudden! And confusing!_ She thought in annoyance. _I mean really, how am I supposed to process my former best friend breaking into my dorm room while on the run from the cops, telling me she's in love with me and then _kissing_ me?!_

She took a few deep breaths to try to calm herself down.

_Alright Barb just settle down an think about this rationally. There's _no way_ anything could work out between you and Pam...Ivy, _she paused. _Pam. Yeah that'll make it a _little _less confusing. No wait let's go back to Ivy because _that_ gets to the heart of the matter. She's a dangerously insane criminal whose hurt your friends and family before in the past and probably wouldn't hesitate to do it again. _

_Of course the only reason she got so far out of hand to begin with is because I didn't follow through with my own promise of helping her out when I became Batgirl. So in a way I could be just as accountable for her actions as she is herself. And again if maybe I tell her I care for her too that will help her on the road to redemption. But I'm still not sure if I _do_ care about her _that_ way. _

She stopped and furrowed her brow in further annoyance.

_Okay this is just leading me in circles. _She sighed and rubbed her left temple. _Face it Barb, aside from figuring out your own preference the biggest obstacle here is the fact that you're-_

"Batgirl."

_Exactly! I mean it's not like I could just flat out _tell_ Ivy that. Aside from the risk of exposing Bruce and Dicks' secret identities she might see it as a betrayal since Batgirl has helped bring her in from time-to-time. But if I tried to hide it from her she's likely to find out eventually and _that_ could make things even worse! Somehow. It's times like this I kinda wish I never had the idea to become-_

"Batgirl."

_Yeah,_ she nodded. _Let's face it, it's not like this is a _normal_ life. Not that my life was really that normal before, but at least I wasn't out skulking the streets at night and having to deal with crazed super villainesses hitting on me. _

She sighed a bit and leaned back. _But I shouldn't even try to fool myself. Even if I wasn't doing this I'd be doing something else reckless and stupid. Just seems to be the way I am. At least this way I'm helping people. So maybe it was always in the cards for me to become-_

"Batgirl."

She arched an eyebrow at the third time the name was uttered. _I seem to be hearing that a lot. And that doesn't sound like my voice it sounds more like-_

"Batgirl!"

The redhead cringed a bit at the screech of static that accompanied the last, gruff utterance of her super hero moniker. It was then she realized that the voice _wasn't_ in fact her owns but rather Batman's trying to get her attention from the small communicator tucked into her right ear under her cowl. Apparently she had been so lost in her thoughts that she momentarily forgot she and Robin where helping Batman keep a look out on the Gotham Diamond Exchange building.

"Um, sorry, I was just...thinking about an assignment I have due tomorrow," she relied rather lamely over the comm.

"That's why you should have done it before you went out on patrol tonight," Robin's smug voice returned from the other side. "I got all mine finished."

"Did you?" Batman's voice asked in that soft yet intensely unnerving way.

Batgirl smirked as she could practically see the shamed look on Robin's face.

"Well...maybe not _all_ of it," he muttered.

"Busted," she retorted.

"Hey at least _I'm _not the one spacing out!"

"Keep the comms clear of chatter," Batman's stern voice broke in. "I just checked into make sure you're in position."

Focusing again on the task at hand, Batgirl lifted the binoculars in her left hand and peered down at the main entrance to the Diamond Exchange. As was to be expected at the late hour, there was no one standing in front of the building and only the faintest hint of a security guard's flashlight moving about inside.

"All's clear on the western front," she muttered into the comlink.

On the roof to an adjacent building, Robin looked down through his own set of binoculars to side door that led into an alleyway occupied by an overflowing dumpster.

"Side entrance is clear," he reported. "Though how does a Diamond Exchange produce so much trash?"

"They _do_ have customers you know," Batgirl shot back. "Plus maybe all the big execs have big lunches. Seems about right to me."

Robin seemed to think about that for a second. "Yeah makes sense to me," he shrugged.

Batman tuned out their chatter as he scanned the loading dock of the Diamond Exchange. It was the most likely point of entry for their suspect. Which is exactly why he chose to watch over it. Something was different here and he was determined to get answers.

"So naturally I get why we have to stop Mr. Freeze from stealing diamonds, but what's with all the extra intensity lately?" Batgirl asked through the comlink as if she had caught on to his brooding. "Afraid he'll screw up the economy even more?"

"Because Freeze _hasn't_ just been stealing diamonds lately," he answered curtly. "He didn't take anything from the last three diamond depositories he hit."

"So maybe he's just diamonded out," Robin suggested.

"I don't think so. It's more likely he's looking for something. And I want to know what."

If either of his sidekicks responded to his last comment he didn't acknowledge them as he caught site of an armored truck driving up to the loading dock. No doubt it was meant to look inconspicious but there were two things that struck him as odd. One was the fact that it was far too late at night for a delivery and two was the fact that the driver looked terrified. Batman zoomed in on his binoculars to get a better look as the back door of the truck slid open and watched as Mr. Freeze stepped out.

"He's here. Get into your positions," he instructed.

"Right," Batgirl and Robin's voices called back simultaneously.

Batman nodded in confirmation to himself before he stashed his binoculars away and pulled out his zip line to repel down to the street. He had waited until Freeze was already inside so as not to alert him to his presence just yet. He still wanted to know what the cold blooded villain was up to. As he passed by the parked truck, he motioned for the terrified driver to stay quiet to which the shaking man could only nod vigorously.

Batman then made his way into the building itself, following the frozen and shattered doors through the back and to the vault where the most valuable diamonds where held. He slipped behind one of the pillars when he caught sight of Freeze standing in front of the vault door. He peered out behind the marble column to watch as armored jewel thief froze the giant steel door. Freeze then walked over to it and placed one of his detonating ice picks inside the mound of ice then took a step back to avoid the impending explosion. Despite being heavily fortified the room still shook slightly from the force of the charge and the pieces of the door clanging loudly onto the marble floor.

Freeze seemed rather unfazed by it though as he strode almost casually into the vault itself. He then started to yank out all the small, metal drawers holding multiple diamonds of various shapes and sizes. Unfortunately, none of them where the right kind of diamond he was looking for and the repeated failure was quickly making him frustrated. He tossed aside another drawer after still finding nothing then pushed his fist into one directly in front of him. When he pulled it back he brought the draw with him and was about to throw it across the vault in frustration as well when caught sight of what was inside. His red eyes widened and a smirk crossed his frozen face as he pulled out a baseball sized diamond. He held it up to the soft lights of the vault and twisted in his hand, examining it for any noticeable flaws. His smirk grew wider when he found none.

"Perfect," he mused as he froze the drawer still stuck to his hand and shattered it. "Just the one I was looking for."

His victory was short lived, however, when a batarang suddenly knocked the diamond out of his hand. He whipped his head towards the source to see Batman standing a few feet away from him in his usual fighting stance. He caught the batarang effortless and started to take a few cautious steps towards Freeze.

"Batman," Mr. Freeze said in a low growl. "I knew you'd show up eventually."

"What's so special about that particular diamond Freeze?" Batman demanded.

"Just a small side project I've been working on for awhile now. But you don't need to worry because you won't be around to see it!"

With that, he fired an ice blast directly at the Dark Knight but he leapt out of the way and tossed a few explosive batarangs back towards Freeze. A quick blast froze them in midair and caused them to land harmlessly on the vault floor. Never one to be deterred, Batman performed a flying kick that hit the villain square in the chest and sent him stumbling back a bit. Freeze caught himself on the cabinet drawers then tossed a few of them towards the hero. The Caped Crusader ducked and dodged the metal containers and the diamonds slipping out of them then launched a zip line that tied around his opponent's legs. A quick tug sent the cold criminal to the floor. Freeze grabbed the line and with a concentrated effort froze the half tied around his legs then sent a sheet of ice racing back up to the line towards Batman's hand.

Batman snapped the line to avoid the icy blast then tossed another exploding batarang towards Freeze as he started to stand up. It impaled itself in the cabinet drawer right behind the diamond thief and exploded a second later, sending him tumbling forward amid a shower of metal shards and sparkling diamonds. As he lay on the floor, trying to recover from the blast, Freeze spotted the diamond he came for right in front of him. With a new found determination he snatched up the diamond and with his other hand froze the floor right under Batman's feet as he walked over to him. Caught off guard, the Dark Knight started to lose his footing but he quickly shifted his balance to stay upright. Unfortunately, it was enough of a distraction to allow Freeze to jump up to his feet, grab the hem of Batman's cowl and toss him out of the vault and behind the two pillars he had hide behind earlier. He then quickly constructed a wall of ice between them that would keep the bat at bay.

Sadly this meant he couldn't simply go back the way he came. Instead he had to take his chances going through the front door. The few night guards he ran into were of little consequence as he froze them in place before they could even reach for their guns. Of course they were never going to be a threat to him. It was always Batman and his annoying sidekicks. Who, he had noticed, weren't with The Bat himself. It was possible they were somewhere else in the city but it was more likely they were waiting for him outside.

His suspicions were confirmed after he broke through the front door. He had barely taken a step outside when both Batgirl and Robin landed simultaneous drop kicks on his chest and sent him flying back inside the building. They landed in the street in crouched positions, ready to strike again.

"Chill out Freeze!" Robin quipped with a smirk.

"Really?" Batgirl sighed with a shake of her head.

He just shrugged and before he could get out another quip, an ice blast forced the two apart. As the flipped through the air they simultaneously threw a batarang and birdarang towards Mr. Freeze, who simply froze them in midair.

"I _hate_ when does that," Robin remarked as he landed on one side of the icy diamond thief.

"Yeah it is really annoying," Batgirl agreed as she landed on the other side.

"Just like both of you!" Freeze growled as he tried to ice over both of them.

"Oh now _that's_ just rude!" The Boy Wonder quipped as he leapt away from the blast.

"Yeah, haven't you ever heard of professional courtesy?" the female bat asked as she rolled away from the blast coming towards her.

"Shut! Up!" Freeze shouted in frustration.

He continued to blast away at them, trying to either freeze them in midair or on the ground. Unfortunately, their acrobatics proved to be too much and he couldn't get a good bead on them. His frustration growing by the second he decided a different tactic. He watched as Batgirl soared through the air again and watched where she was going to land. A smirk on his face, he froze the pavement under her feet and watched as she slipped onto her backside. He was about to incase her in ice to finally put an end to her meddling when a rope tied wrapped around him, pinning his arms to his waist. He could feel a slight tug pull him backwards and since Robin was helping Batgirl up that left only one option:

"Batman," he snarled as he looked over his should at the Dark Knight. "I thought you would have learned from before that this little trick doesn't work on me."

With that he reached up and started to freeze the line as he had a few moments earlier, once again causing Batman to let go of it. Freeze turned completely around to engage him again, arms raised to blast the Caped Crusader back into the Ice Age.

"I wasn't trying to hold you, just distract you," Batman simply replied.

Freeze's red eyes widened and he spun back around just in time to see Batgirl running towards Robin's cupped hands. The Boy Wonder helped launch her towards the stoop in front of the Diamond Exchange. She flipped and contorted her body through the air so that she could land in a handstand on the flag pool just above the double doors. She then swung her body down and planted the heels of both feet onto the face plate of Freeze's suit. The impact knocked him off the raised platform and down to the hard concrete of the sidekick below.

"Whoa, nice moves!" Robin cheered as he ran up to her.

"Hey, I wasn't an Olympic hopeful for nothing," she quipped.

_The Olympics. Now _there's_ something I haven't thought about in a long time,_ Barbara noted to herself. _In fact the last time I even used the phrase "Olympic hopeful" was my struggle with Temblor. When I found out that Pam was using him as hired muscle for her revenge against eco unfriendly companies. Back before all the heroics started. Back when I _thought_ we were friends. Back before that kiss. And _definitely _back before I started thinking about-_

"Batgirl look out!" Robin shouted urgently.

Snapped back to the real world by his scream, Batgirl finally realized that Mr. Freeze had gotten up and was pointing a glowing blue fist right at her. She was caught so off guard by the sudden realization she her body had completely locked into place and she found her legs didn't seem to want to move. Everything seemed to slow down as the glow around Freeze's fist turned into a projectile blast that shot straight towards her. She was saved at the last second, however, when Robin moved forward and pushed her out of the way. Unfortunately, the only resulted in _him_ being incased in a block of solid ice.

"Robin!" both Batman and Batgirl yelled in concern.

When they ran over to check on him, Freeze took advantage of the situation by building an ice wall around the stoop they all stood on. He peaked in just as he was finishing up the last wall.

"Good luck with your cold canary Batman," he chuckled right before his face was hidden behind a block of ice.

Batgirl shivered a bit as she looked around the frozen room.

"So what do we now?" she asked Batman as he kneeled down to inspect Robin.

"First we thaw Robin out," he said, pulling a pen sized laser from his utility belt and using it to melt the ice. "Then we get out of here."

"Then we go after Freeze, right?" she asked with a sense of determination in her voice.

"No he'll be long gone by the time we get out of here," Batman scowled.

"So then what _do_ we do?"

He looked over at her with a glare that tied her stomach into a knot.

"_We_ go back to the cave and have a talk."

_Why do I get the feeling this isn't going to be a _friendly_ chat?_ She thought nervously.

* * *

Once Robin was thawed out the trio quickly returned to the Batcave where he was placed in a special warming solution to elevate his body temperature while Alfred tend to drying and cleaning his costume. Of course Batgirl wasn't really aware of all that as she was too busy getting an evil eyed glare from Batman. Which was _exactly_ as intimidating as it sounded. She felt like she was about two inches tall at the moment and part of her really wished she _was_ because then maybe she could have snuck away from the berating he was giving her. Instead all she could do was look down at her feet while she paced a little back and fourth nervously. She looked up at him only when she realized he had asked her a question.

"What?" she asked softly.

"I said, 'What's gotten into you lately'?" Batman repeated in a stern voice. "For the past two days you've been sloppy and distracted out there and I don't think it's just about your homework."

_Damn! Well I guess you really _can't_ slip anything by the World's Greatest Detective, _she thought weakly.

"I'm waiting," he prodded as he crossed his arms over his chest.

She let out a deep sigh as she tried to gather her wits about her and come up with an excuse. The thought of telling him the truth crossed her mind but then that might lead to even more questions of why she didn't tell him about Ivy's little visit earlier and what she planned to do about it. The latter of which she still wasn't even sure about herself! So she had to think of _something_ to tell him that would hold him over for now. Once she steadied her nerves she looked up at him again.

"Look, I _know_ I screwed up tonight," she started.

"Ha! That's the understatement of the year," Robin's voice called out from behind them.

They both turned to see Dick walking towards them in his regular clothes and drying his hair with a towel. He moved to stand next to Batman and almost completely matched his glare in an uncanny way that showed of how similar they could be. Under the duel glares, Batgirl's confidence shrunk again.

"Look Dick, I'm sorry," she said softly. "I didn't mean for you to take the hit for me and I truly appreciate it and I just can't tell you how really, _really_ sorry I am."

"Darn right you better be sorry!" he shouted back. "I mean geez Babs, I was _frozen_ today!"

"I know, I know! And like I said I'm really sorry!" she repeated.

"It's not a question or whether or not you're sorry," Batman broke in.

"It's not?" Dick asked in confusion.

He was answered with a look that told him to be quiet. He put his hands up in defeat before he took a step back. Batman nodded then looked back at Batgirl and continued.

"Despite what Dick said, he and I both know you feel terrible about what happened," he said. "But that fact is it _did_ happen. We lucked out in that he was just frozen and we have the equipment here to handle that in the Cave. But what if something more serious had happened? What if he had been shot or broke a limb or...worse?"

Dick blinked and looked up at him in surprise.

"Wow, you've thought about this, haven't you?" he asked in an uncertain voice.

"Unfortunately I've had to. For both of you," he answered, casting a glance at Batgirl. "They're aren't pretty thoughts but it's what we _have_ to think about when we go out there every night. _All_ of us. We have to know that we have each other's backs and we'll be there in the a tough spot."

"I know all that," Batgirl replied softly. "I get the training, I get the cohesiveness of the team and all that stuff. And I'm right there with ya big guy, it's just that...well...something's kinda thrown my life for a loop right now and I'm having trouble dealing with it."

"And that is...?" he prodded.

She narrowed her eyes a bit. "Personal."

"It's effecting your work with us."

"I know and like I said I'm sorry. Just give me some time to deal with it and I _promise_ you I'll be back to fighting shape in no time."

Batman stared at her for several silent tense filled seconds which made the pit in her stomach grow even larger. After an excruciatingly long time he finally nodded ever so slightly.

"Alright fine," he agreed. "You take the time you need to get your head together and then come back and we'll see how you do."

"Wait, that's it?!" Dick snapped. "She get's me frozen and all she gets it...super hero detention?!"

"What else do you suggest?"

"Well...I don't know, loss of Batcave privileges?!"

"If I'm gonna take some time for myself then I'm not really gonna be in the cave much, now am I?" Batgirl asked with a slight smirk.

Dick tossed her an annoyed look. "Hey you don't get to be funny right now!"

She threw her hands up in defeat.

"Okay, you got a point there. I'm just gonna go back to my dorm room and try to relax for the rest of the night," she said then looked up at Batman. "I mean if that's okay with you boss."

"That's fine. I'm going to try to track Freeze's whereabouts with the Bat-Wave anyway," he remarked.

"And _I'm_ gonna get something warm to eat!" Dick said enthusiastically then made his way towards one of the doors to the mansion.

Batgirl watched him leave with a smirk and a shake of her head before she walked over to her personal Batcycle. She picked up her helmet from the seat and was about to turn it on when she heard Batman's voice calling to her.

"Barbara," he said in a soft tone that honestly took her by surprise. "Whatever this thing you're working out is...you _can_ talk to us about it if you need to."

She couldn't help but feel touched at the sentiment and a bit surprised by the sudden mood swing. Still she managed to smile softly back at him.

"I know. And thanks. But there are just some things you gotta work out for yourself, you know?" she remarked and then felt incredibly stupid for phrasing it that way.

"More than you'll ever know," Batman replied in a low voice before he turned around and walked deep into the cave.

Batgirl sighed as she put on her helmet and slipped onto the motorcycle.

_Really batting a thousand there tonight Barb_, she chided herself before she kick started the bike and rode out of the cave.

* * *

After she stored the Batcycle in a safe location near the Gotham U campus and changed out of her Batgirl costume, Barbara quickly returned to her dorm room where she immediately made her way into the bathroom to have a nice, long, hot shower. She found it really was the best way to wash away the tension that came with crime fighting, especially when she messed up as badly as she did tonight. Bruce, and especially Dick, had every right to be mad at her. Truth was she was mad at herself. She screwed up badly tonight and it got Dick hurt. Granted he ended up being fine, but it could have been much, _much_ worse. She sighed and rested her head under the shower nozzle, letting the warm water run over her back.

_I've _gotta _get a grip on this thing with Ivy_, she thought determinately. _It's messing me up in a lot of ways and it's hurting people I care about. I wish I could just answer this stupid question with a "yes" or "no". But it's just..._not_ that simple. The worst part is I don't even know _why _it's not that simple!_

She let out a frustrated growl before she leaned back and let the water fall over her face. As she stood under the stream of water, her mind drifted back to Ivy's visit two nights ago. Mostly specifically it drifted back to the kiss at the end. It was a surprisingly gentle kiss with just enough force behind it to show she was serious with her confession. What was even more surprising was the fact that it didn't kill her as she figured Ivy had some kind of poison on her lips. It would make sense given how her hair produces mind controlling spores. But yet here she stood, in the middle of the shower reflecting back on that very peculiar kiss. It wasn't a _bad_ kiss. In fact as kisses when it was quite enjoyable. Not that she had any frame of reference before, mind you, but from everything she heard it was a good kiss. One that had lingered on her lips just a few moments after it was over and caused a slight tingle to go down her spine. If Barbara was going to be completely and totally honest with herself she actually wouldn't mind another kiss like that. But the billion dollar question was, would she want another kiss like that from Ivy?

_Maybe if..._ she started to think.

"Would you hurry the hell up in there?!" a shrill voice accompanied by a loud bang came from the door.

Barbara jumped a bit at the sudden noise then let out an irritable sigh when she recognized the angered voice of her and Kara's suit mate. The real problem with having a bathroom in your dorm wasn't sharing it with the person you lived with it was sharing it with the people who lived on the other side of you. Especially when they were spoiled little brats who demanded it nearly all the time so they could make themselves look pretty for their next club outing.

"I said get out of there!" the voice rang again.

"Alright already!" Barbara snapped as she turned off the water.

She then grabbed a large towel from the rack on the door and wrapped it around her slender body before she took a smaller one to wrap around her hair. She then hurriedly picked up her clothes and left through the door leading back to her room. No sooner had she closed it than she heard the other door open and a very irritating voice let out a few choice words about her.

"Gotta love the neighbors, huh?" Kara asked from where she sat on her bed with a book in her lap.

Once again Barbara was taken aback that night as she looked dumbfounded at Kara.

"When did you get here?!" she asked in confusion.

"Just a few minutes ago while you're still in the shower," the blonde girl explained.

"Oh," Barbara nodded then moved to the closest on her side of the room. "Guess I didn't hear you come in."

"Yeah I can be pretty sneaky when I want to be," Kara smiled.

"I bet," the redhead smiled back as she dumped her used clothes into her laundry basket.

"So where have you been all night?"

Barbara barely flinched at the question. It was one of her few instincts that still seemed to be working perfectly. Mostly because it was a common question she was asked. Still she always had to think of something good to say that sounded believable. She slid the mirrored closet door closed and walked nonchalantly over to the dresser with a shrug.

"Oh no where special. Just out and about really. You know, seeing the town and all that," she remarked casually.

Kara just tipped her glasses a bit and stared at her roommate. Despite all the body and voice control she had learned from Bruce, there were times when Barbara could swear Kara could still tell she was lying. It wasn't anything in particular just this feeling she got. Like the blonde wasn't so much looking at her or through as she was looking _inside_ her to all the muscle ticks and tension that happened anytime you lied. It was kind of eerie in an otherworldly fashion.

"Uh huh," Kara nodded and turned her attention back to her text book. "Sounds like another fun filled night in the life of Barbara Gordon."

"You know it," she chuckled as she pulled some clothes out of the dresser. She then looked over at her roommate. "Um...hey, I know you just got back and all but would you mind giving me some privacy for a moment?"

"Yeah no problem," the other girl remarked as she stood up and stretched. "I was just about to head down the hall and talk with Cassie anyway to get some help with this Greek Mythology assignment."

"She certainly _does_ seem to know a lot about that stuff. It's like the girl lives it or something," Barbara remarked.

"Oh you have _no_ idea," Kara smirked.

She then slipped on her shoes, grabbed her keys and headed out the door. "Later roomie!"

"Later! And if you come in later while I'm asleep please be quiet, okay?"

"I'll be like my feet aren't even touching the ground," the blonde called back before she closed the door behind her.

A wide grinned crossed Barbara's face as her departing roommate. When she first came to college she wasn't sure how well she was going to get along with whoever she ended up sharing a room with given her dad was the police commissioner and nocturnal activities as Batgirl but she and Kara quickly became great friends. She was one of the few saving graces Barbara had in her life right now and part of her really wanted to confide in her what was going on but that presented problems of its own. Not the least of which was that it might reveal her identity as Batgirl. Even if it didn't, she wasn't entirely sure that revealing that she might have feelings for another girl wouldn't seriously freak Kara out. She _did_ have those mid-Western values after all.

_And _that_ right there is the _worst_ part of this whole thing,_ she thought in annoyance. _I have no one to confide in on this topic. Maybe if I did I could finally come to a decision and work past this whole mess one way or the other. But seriously _who_ can I talk to?!_

It was then that she spied a copy of the Gotham U newspaper laying on Kara's bed. The headline on the front page caught her interest and she quickly snatched it up.

**ART SCHOOL TO HOLD JADE GATO EXHIBITION**

Apparently the university's art program had worked out a deal with the city's museum to hold an exhibition for the rare Jade Gato statue. It was only going to be on display in the school's art building for two weeks before being shipped back to the museum. The article went into great detail about how the dean of the art school and the head of the museum came to the agreement but Barbara didn't care. What interested her the most was the idea of a "Jade Gato" statue being in her own backyard and what sort of light night look that might attract.

"And if _she's_ there then maybe..." Barbara started but quickly shook her head. "Whoa, whoa, I'm not _seriously_ thinking that, am I?"

She looked down at the paper again as if it would provide some answers for her.

"On the other hand I _do_ need someone to confide in and she's the only neutral party I know. Also the only older female voice of guidance I know. Which is kinda sad now that I think about it."

She sighed as she threw down the paper and pulled her backpack out from under the bed.

"Still if I'm gonna do this, I might as well do it now before I talk myself out of it. I just hope this goes as smoothly as it possibly can. Which honestly _still_ isn't saying much."

* * *

Despite the numerous street lights and well lit walkways placed throughout the Gotham University campuses, roofs to the buildings there still left pretty well shrouded in darkness since there were very little reason for anyone to go up there in the middle of the night. This made sneaking around them quite easily for night shift janitor taking a quick smoke break or a pair of amorous students feeling particularly wild that night or for a certain cat themed burglar to go prowling around them in a black full body suit.

Catwoman smirked as she landed soundlessly on the room of the Gotham U Art School. All the time she took in planning on how to get the Jade Gato out of the Gotham History Museum and the fools just go and put it on display in a very poorly protected college building. It was almost like they were _daring_ her to take it.

"Well, never was one to pass up a good dare," she smirked as she started to approach the large window box that looked down on the building's main hall.

"Okay so I _dare_ you to take the night off and _not_ steal the Jade Gato," Batgirl's voice called out.

Catwoman spun around with a hiss to find the bat crouched on top of the service entry into the building. She jumped off her perched and landed in a fighting stance a few feet way from the feline felon. Catwoman smirked as she took a fighting stance of her own.

"So where's the rest of Team Bat, huh? Waiting to pounce on me from the shadows?" she asked in a steady tone.

"Nope. It's just me tonight," Batgirl replied.

"And you think you can stop me from taking the Jade Gato alone? Pretty brave kid. I admire that. Still won't help but I admire it."

"Well while I _would_ like for you to not steal the statue that's not _entirely_ the reason I tracked you down here."

"Oh? Then what is?"

Batgirl then relaxed her posed and allowed her cape to flow of her arms, standing upright and perfectly still to show she wasn't a threat.

"I need someone to talk to," she confessed with a slight sigh.

Catwoman blinked behind her orange tinted goggles at the statement. She relaxed her own stance out of confusion the started to look around to see if anyone else was on the rooftop with them.

"This is a trick right?" she asked in disbelief. "A way to get me to let my guard down so that Bats and Birdboy can pop out of the darkness and jump me, right?"

"Nope it's just me here you have my word," Batgirl clarified.

"Uh huh," Catwoman nodded, still not convinced. "And how do you know I can take you at your word?"

"Because I'm the good guy here, remember?"

"True, you _do_ all seem to have that annoyingly high moral code." She tapped her chin with one of her gloved fingers. "Provided you _are_ telling the truth, why on Earth would you want to talk to _me_?"

Batgirl got a little flustered and she sincerely hoped her cowl hid her embarrassed blush.

"Because I have this...personal issue I need to talk about with another woman and you're really the only other one I know who I can confide in with this secret."

"Wow, that's really sad."

"Trust me, I know," she sighed. "So you gonna help me or what?"

Catwoman couldn't hide her slight chuckle.

"Look kid, I like you and all but I'm not exactly the touchie feelie type. Especially not with someone who's tried to haul my butt to jail on more than one occasion."

The redhead sighed and slumped her shoulders. "Yeah I kinda had a feeling you'd say something like that. Well go ahead and take the Jade Gato. I'm sure it'll bring you all sorts of cash."

With that she turned around and plodded over to the service entrance which she leaned against before she slowly slide down to the concrete roof of the building. She brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them so she could lay her chin on her hands. She sat there in completely silence, a saddened expression on her face.

Catwoman just blinked as she looked at the sullen hero the back at the window box which would easily lead her to her treasure. She started to walk towards it but then stopped and looked back at Batgirl.

"So you're _not_ going to stop me at all? Not even a little?" she asked in confusion.

"Nope. I'm not in the mood for it right now," Batgirl replied wearily.

The cat themed thief shrugged then knelt down to the window and popped the claw on her right index finger. She had just placed the tip on the glass to cut a whole in it when she caught the reflection of Batgirl sitting helplessly against the brick wall of the service entrance. She tried to ignore the young crime fighter's plight but something kept nagging at the back of her mind. Truth be told she really _did_ like the redhead for her spunk and tenacity and seeing her like this just didn't seem right. But she was also the enemy and on any other given night would have been fighting her right not stop her from stealing the statue so she _deserved_ whatever torment she was going through right now.

Right?

_Wonderful time to grown a conscience Selina_, she growled at herself as she stood up with a silence.

"Okay I can't stand to see you like this," she said aloud as she turned back to Batgirl.

She then walked over to the redhead and sat down next to her, taking a similar pose with her legs brought up to her sizable chest and her hands sitting lazily on her knees. She stared down at the crime fighter for a moment before she finally asked:

"What's on your mind kid?"

Batgirl looked up at up at the older woman cautiously for a second, unsure if her concern was genuine or if it was just a trick to lure her into a false sense of security and knock her out or something. Of course being that it was _her_ idea to talk to her in the first place she knew she had to say something eventually.

"Well...you see...I have this friend," she started nervously.

"Ah! Stop right there! If you're gonna drag me away from my prize for some heart-to-heart then I'm not going to hear this 'I've got this friend' crap," Catwoman chided her. "So start over."

"Okay, fine, it's _me_," Batgirl repeated in annoyance. "I had an...encounter a couple nights ago and it's been messing with my head ever since."

The cat burglar arched an eyebrow behind her goggles. "What kind of 'encounter'?"

"Well it was with a villain...a _female_ villain, and it was kind of...personal."

Again Catwoman seemed a bit lost in the conversation. "How personal?"

Batgirl rested her head against the rough brick of the entrance and refused to look her companion in the eye.

"Do I _really_ have to tell you?" she pleaded.

"If you're gonna pull me away from work then _yes_ you have to tell me."

"Okay, fine." She closed her eyes, took a deep breath then blurted out, "She kissed me."

Catwoman's eyes went wide behind her goggles and her head whipped around to stare down at Batgirl in complete shock.

"What?! When?! Who?!" she sputtered.

"_That_ doesn't matter," Batgirl insisted.

"Oh _yes_ it does! There aren't that many female villains in Gotham so I'd like to know...wait...it Ivy wasn't it?" she guessed.

Now it was Batgirl's time to be surprised. "How did you know?!"

A satisfied smirk crossed Catwoman's face as she rested her head against the wall as well.

"Oh just call it...cat's intuition," she mused. "There was just something about her that made me think she could go that way." She paused and looked at Batgirl again. "So she's into _you_, huh? Weird I always figured she'd have a thing for Harley."

"What?! Why?!" the redhead demanded.

The woman shrugged. "Just something about the way they interacted is all. So if Ivy likes you then do you like her?"

"I don't know!" Batgirl shouted, throwing her hands up in frustration. "_That's_ the part that's confusing me! I really don't know _how_ I feel about her! I mean I like her but I don't know if I like her like _that._"

Catwoman chuckled in amusement. "Yeah these times of your life really _are _confusing even without the costumed stuff. Discovering who you are mentally and sexually, it's real challenge." She then paused and looked back at the girl again. "You _are_ old enough to even _have_ these feelings, right?"

The redhead's mouth hung open in offense.

"Of course I am! I'm in college!" she screamed.

"Really?" the older woman remarked and looked her over again. "Wow, puberty was _not_ kind to you, was it?"

"Hey!" Batgirl cried, her face reddening behind her mask. "I'm sorry it not all of us look like they should be on the cover of villain's edition of Playboy!"

"Okay, fine, I admit that was a low blow. I just wanted to check before this talk went any further," Catwoman clarified.

"Well trust me, I'm old enough. It doesn't make me any less confused though."

"Well let's start with the big question: what's got you more worried that you might be into a girl or that you might be into a villain?"

"Both really," Batgirl sighed.

"One's gotta be worse than the other."

"I guess if I had to choose it'd be..." she paused and thought about it for a moment. "The villain thing really."

"Hah! There we go!" Catwoman cheered and patted her on the head. "Now the villain thing I can get given that Ole Sourpuss isn't going to look kindly on that sort of thing."

"I'm sure you'd know _all_ about that," Batgirl remarked.

She glared down at her. "What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Oh come I've seen the way you two act around each other. You are _so_ into him!"

Catwoman scowled and looked away. "It's just a little harmless flirting that's all. A way to have fun on the job. Throw him off his game."

"Uh huh," the redhead smirked mischievously. "You know you two even scowl the same? I swear it's like you're made for each other."

"Whatever."

"Actually it's kind of the reason I wanted to talk to you about it. If I actually _do_ admit my feelings to Ivy...how am I supposed to handle this whole hero/villain relationship thing? It doesn't look easy."

"It's not," Catwoman said softly, dropping her pretense. "Especially when they guy you're interested in sees you as nothing more than a common criminal."

"Except in my case we're not talking about a guy."

"That's right," the black clad thief remarked and turned her attention to the girl again. "So how are you handling _that_ part of the whole thing?"

"Not well," Batgirl confessed. "It's going to be a _huge_ adjustment and I'm just..."

"Afraid how everyone around will react to the news?"

"Yeah," she mumbled as she tucked her head into her knees.

Catwoman reached down and cupped Batgirl's chin so she could gently pull her face back out of her knees and turn it to look at her. She offered a warm, understanding smile that actually made the young heroine feel a bit better.

"You asked me for my advice, so here it is: to hell with them!" she stated emphatically.

"What?!" Batgirl asked in surprise and confusion.

"You heard me. All those people you're afraid will turn against you just because you like girls? To hell with them! If they truly, honestly, care for you then they'll stick by you. Anyone who turns against wasn't really your friend to begin with and you don't need them dragging you down. And if what's got you really worried is all of the social taboos then just think about this; we run around the streets at night wearing animal themed costumes. We're already breaking a bunch of social taboos so what's one more, right? Especially one that makes you happy."

Batgirl leaned her head against the wall again and stared up into the starry night sky as she mulled over Catwoman's words. After a few seconds of processing them, an easy smile crossed her face as she body relaxed a bit.

"That...actually makes perfect sense," she remarked.

"Hey I'm a cat," Catwoman shrugged. "We know all about doing things that make us happy."

"I guess so," she nodded but quickly frowned. "Now I just gotta figure out what to do about this whole villain thing."

"Well there's one of two things you can do. You can either convince Ivy to give up her life of crime or you can join her. Either way I'd get started on it soon because I'm sure your boss won't be off her trail for long."

"Right," Batgirl nodded then after a moment looked over at her unlikely confidant. "Um...hey, thanks for helping me with all this."

"Yeah, don't mention it," Catwoman said as she stood up with a stretch then looked back at her with a stern expression. "Seriously, don't mention it. Ever. To anyone. I don't want my reputation getting ruined."

Batgirl smirked. "You're secret's safe with me."

"Good. Then if we're done with this Hallmark moment I'll be on my way."

"You're gonna go back to stealing the Jade Gato are you?"

"Nah. Like you said, I'm not in the mood for it tonight. I think I'll just go home and relax with a nice bubble bath. Maybe with a can of tuna. Yeah I like that idea."

With that, Catwoman began to walk towards the edge of the building. She stopped when she reached the ledge and looked over her should back at Batgirl.

"See ya later kid. You know it's a shame you didn't want to take me up on my earlier offer. You really would have made a good 'Catgirl'. Shame the position's already been taken," she said with a smirk before she leapt off the building.

"Wait! What?!" Batgirl called after her but she knew it was useless.

Instead she simply stood up herself and worked the kinks out of her back and shoulders as she did so. She then looked out over what she could see of the Gotham City skyline, knowing that Ivy was somewhere out there and waiting for Barbara Gordon's answer to her question.

"Well, at least now I know where I stand on this whole thing. Now all I have to do is find Ivy and talk to her. Which just leads me to my next problem. Just what exactly am I going to say to her?"

**To Be Continued...**

**Author's Notes: **Aha! A month in the making but I _finally_ got this chapter done! I was really hoping I'd gotten over my creative slump that plagued my last couple KP fics but sadly work is just too damn draining lately. Couple that with a couple family issues I needed to deal with last week and well....it took a month to get it out. But here is it and I hope you enjoyed it! I know there wasn't too much action in it but I had to progress the story a little bit. Next chapter we'll finally see Babs and Ivy meet up again after the surprise kiss Ivy planted on her former friend. What will Barbara say to Ivy? What will Ivy's reaction be? And what will Batman do if he finds out about this illicit affair? Tune in next week! Same Bat-Channel! Same Bat-Time!

Okay, that was bad but I just couldn't help it. Had to do it at least _once_ to get it out of my system. But seriously these questions and more will be addressed in the next chapter of "Knightshade":

"The Confrontation"

See ya then!


	3. The Confrontation

**Disclaimer: **_The Characters from "The Batman" are owned by DC Comics, Warner Bros., Bob Kane and God knows how many other people by now. This is a story done purely for fun and not to make profit whatsoever. Any original characters that may appear belong to the writer and can be used with permission. _

**Knightshade**

**Chapter 3: The Confrontation**

Batgirl let out a small sigh as she swung through the city. It had been three day since her talk with Catwoman and the revelation it brought regarding her feelings for Ivy. She finally got to a point where she felt she would confidently talk to her about those feelings. But first she had to actually _find_ Ivy. Which was turning out to be a lot harder than she originally thought. Whatever Ivy was planning this time she was seriously laying low for it. Or maybe the whole reason she broke out _was_ just to talk to her.

_Course I'll never know if I don't _find_ her,_ Batgirl thought as she landed on a nearby rooftop.

She walked over to the edge of the roof to look out over the buildings and streets below. She knew it was next to impossible to just stumble across Ivy way up here, but at this point she didn't know what else to do. She had already checked out the old Baudelaires' store and found no trace of Ivy at all. Even the underground garden she had was completely gone. So she moved onto keeping tabs on all the big industries in Gotham that had reputations for being less than environmentally friendly and _still_ there was no sign of Ivy. Whatever she was planning this time she was doing a good job of keeping a low profile.

_Maybe she really _did_ just want to talk to me and is patiently waiting my reply,_ Batgirl considered. _Course I can't really given her one if I can't _find _her so it's not really that good of a plan, now is it? Or maybe she's gonna come visit me again. But _that_ could lead to a whole new set of problems. _

She sighed again then put her right foot up on the ledge of the roof so she could lay her arm on her thigh and rest her head in her hand as she tried to think of her next move. She drummed her fingers against her cheek and rolled her tongue absently around in her mouth while mulling the situation over in her mind again.

"Yeah, I got nothing," she finally muttered after a few seconds.

She stood up straight again and stretched her back to work the slight kink out of it and was about to fire another zip line to scour another part of the city when she heard a loud, terrified shriek.

"HELP! Someone! He stole my purse!" a woman's hysterical cry rang out.

Batgirl whipped her head in the direction of the plea and saw a rather well dressed blonde woman in fur coat standing in the middle of the sidewalk with a horrified expression while a man in dark clothing and shaggy looking brown hair was running away from her with a white leather purse tucked under his right arm. The young super heroine readjusted her aim so that a swing of the zip line would bring her right down on top of the fleeing felon.

"A hero's work is never done," she said with a smirk just before she launched herself off the building.

Her aim and swing were true and within seconds she was planting both her heels into the mugger's sternum. The impact sent them both rolling along the sidewalk, but Batgirl was able to flip herself up into a standing position while the mugger laid on the pavement and groan in pain. The redheaded hero reached down and snatched the purse from his splayed opened hand.

"Sorry but this bag _really_ clashes with your outfit," she quipped.

"My purse!" the blonde woman cried as she ran up to Batgirl. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Don't worry about it," she replied as she handed the purse back. "It's what we masked heroes do."

"I know but still, let me give you something," the woman offered as she started to rout around in her purse.

"I appreciate the offer ma'am but really your thanks is all I need," Batgirl tried to wave off politely.

Unfortunately their little sidebar provided enough of a distraction for the mugger to reached a shaking hand into his coat and pull out a pistol. He held it up with the intend of shooting Batgirl in the back but the blonde noticed this action and let out another terrified shriek.

"Look out!" she screamed.

The warning kicked in Batgirl's trained reflexes and in one swift move she had pulled a Batarang from her utility belt and threw it at the mugger. The tip landed perfectly inside the barrel of the gun which prevented him from firing. While he stared at it in shocked surprise, Batgirl moved forward and punched him right in the temple which knocked him out. She pulled the Batarang from the gun barrel and slipped it back into her belt then pulled out a pair of handcuffs and cuffed his hands behind a nearby street light.

"There, _that_ should do it," she remarked as she dusted off her hands then looked back at the other women. "If you really still want to help call GCPD and tell them to pick up our friend here."

"Oh yes, yes of course," the blonde nodded vigorously as she pulled out her cell phone. "And thank you once again."

"All in a night's work ma'am," Batgirl replied with a small salute before she zip lined off again.

"_Well that helped with my frustrations a bit,_ she thought as she swung throughout the city. _Still need to try to find Ivy though. But maybe later. It's getting kind of late and I really should try to get _some_ sleep before class tomorrow. Yep sleep sounds good about now. Just hope the night doesn't have anymore unpleasant surprises for me._

* * *

Back in her dorm room, Barbara was in a quite pleasant sleep when a light rapping noise from the window slowly brought her out of it. Her face scrunched up in annoyance at whatever it was that was trying to ruse her from her slumber but her eyes popped up when she realized what it exactly it was. It was the same sound she heard the first time Ivy had visited her. She clicked on the lamp on the night stand then pulled herself out of bed. She grew a little anxious as the tapping sound increased a bit, the resolve she had felt earlier finding Ivy and telling her her feelings suddenly fading under a bundle of nerves. There was also the fact that she was afraid what would happen if Kara where to wake up. She peered over at the other bed in the dim light and thankfully found that it was empty.

She let out a relieved sigh before she made her way over to the window and pulled the blinds back. Just like before Ivy was on the other side of the window sitting on one of her vine transports. Barbara quickly opened the window and practically pulled the green girl inside. She then stuck her head the window to see if anyone noticed before she shut it again and pulled the blinds closed. When she was sure the coast was clear she looked back at her former friend.

"You've _got_ to stop doing this!" Barbara chided her.

"Hey _you're_ the one who pulled me in here rather quickly," Ivy replied with a playful smirk.

"That's because I don't want anyone to know you're here."

"Awww, so you _do_ still care about me."

Barbara's eyes widened a bit and a slight blush came to her cheeks as she turned her head away and stared down at the floor.

"Well...yeah. I mean despite everything I _still_ think of you as my friend," she mumbled.

Ivy smiled softly as she walked over to her shorter girl and placed her hand under her chin to gently lift her head up.

"And I still think of you as my friend Red," she said softly. "Even more so now."

Barbara swallowed nervously and blushed even more.

"Y-yeah...you told me last time you were here," she stumbled a bit.

"So what's your answer?"

The younger Red stared up into her friend's green eyes for several tense seconds as she tried to remember what she was going to say to Ivy when she found her again. The only thing she could really focus on was the rapid beating of her own heart. She took a few deep breaths to help calm her rattled nerves then brought her right hand up to gently lay it on top of the hand Ivy had under her chin. She then slowly lowered both their hands and entwined their fingers as she looked up into the other Red's emerald eyes.

"Ivy...Pam, I've been giving this a lot of thought. A _lot_ of thought," she said with a slight roll of her eyes. "And after doing some deep soul searching the only thing I can really say is...yes. Yes I _can_ return your feelings."

For a moment Ivy stood motionless as she processed what Barbara had just told her. After a few seconds of awkward silence, her fingers tightened their grip as a cheerful smile slowly graced green lips. It was a smile full of hope and joy. A smile she hadn't had in a long time. A smile it felt good to have again. Unfortunately it was quickly deflated by one word from Barbara.

"But," she spoke up, looking away from the taller girl's eyes.

"But what?" Ivy asked in a slightly irritated voice.

Barbara took another deep breath and locked eyes with her friend again.

"We can't really be together if you keep living this life of crime," she explained. "I know the environment thing is important to you and it's important to me too. But you can't go around attacking industrial plants or corporate heads or trying to replace people with plants!"

"Are you _still_ on that?" the green girl asked with a roll of her eyes.

"Yes! Because that's _exactly_ the kind of attitude that will keep us from being together."

Ivy scowled at her for a few seconds before she pulled her hand away from Barbara's and turned her back to her. She began to pace a bit as she mulled over the proposition. Barbara watched her anxiously, her muscles tensing up just a bit in case she needed to dodge an attack. The tension continued to grow thick throughout the small dorm room until Ivy finally turned back towards the shorter redhead. She gracefully walked back over to her and Barbara had to force herself not to take a few steps back in precaution. The villainess' hands reached out to grab hers and hold them gently but tightly. Once within her grasp Barbara looked back into Ivy's eyes and saw a surprising softness and sincerity in them.

"Alright, I'll do it for you Red," she said softly with a gentle smile. "For you I'll go back to Arkham and turn over a new leaf."

Despite the overwhelming joy she felt, Barbara couldn't help but cringe at the horrible pun.

"_Really_?! You just _had_ to put it like that?" she asked in disbelief.

Ivy shrugged with a grin. "What can I say, I couldn't help myself."

"Right. Well...anyway are you going to go back to Arkham peacefully or do you really need me to call my dad?"

"Way to ruin the moment Red," she mocked with a roll of her eyes. "Yes, I'll go back by myself, but why rush it? I'm much more happy staying here with you and enjoying this little number you have on."

Barbara arched an eyebrow in confusion at Ivy's statement. She then raised them both in shock and embarrassment when she realized why she had been looking her up and down. She had been so caught up in the moment that she had forgotten she was only wearing a long purple T-shirt barely fell past her hips to cover her panties and left her legs completely exposed save for the pair of socks on her feet. A deep blush came to her face and she tried to pull her hands away from Ivy's to pull down the shirt a little bit, but green girl merely strengthened her grip.

"You're going the wrong direction Red," she purred seductively.

The next thing Barbara knew, Ivy had yanked her towards her and their lips locked into a soft kiss. As with the last time Ivy had suddenly kissed her she was surprised but this time she was able to overcome her shock and actually returned the kiss. Their fingers untangled from each other and instead wrapped around their waists as the kiss grew more heated. Barbara's head spun as everything seemed to be happening all at once and when she finally could process what was going on she realized they were slowly making their way over to her bed. She came to this realization just as her legs bumped against the mattress which caused her to topple onto it and take Ivy with her. The unexpected movement caused them to break their kiss long enough to laugh at the bit of clumsiness.

"Thought you were supposed to be an Olympic hopeful?" Ivy joked with an amused smirk.

"I am when I don't have someone distracting me," Barbara shot back.

"So does that mean you want me to stop?"

"Not on your life Red."

They quickly repositioned themselves so Barbara could lay her head on the pillow before they resumed their impromptu make out session which was quickly turning into something more. Their hands again roamed over each other's bodies and Ivy's began to pull up the end of Barbara's nightshirt a bit.

"Oh Red," the smaller redhead sighed after she broke the kiss again.

"I know Red," Ivy breathed hotly.

"Ivy," she sighed again.

"Miss Gordon."

That one seemed a bit weird. Why would Ivy suddenly get so formal with her?

"Miss Gordon!"

There it was again. Barbara opened her eyes and saw Ivy glaring down at her with a _very_ nasty expression on her face.

"MISS GORDON!!"

Barbara let out a surprised shriek as her head snapped upwards. For a moment the world was only a strange blur and she could hear muffled giggling around her. She blinked her eyes a few times to try to get them to focus and when they did she wanted nothing more than to close them again. Apparently she was _not_ in her dorm room with Ivy on top of her doing very pleasurable things. Instead she was in the middle of class with the other students laughing and mumbling as her professor glared angrily at her.

"Welcome back to the waking world Miss Gordon," he said snidely to her. "I trust you had a good rest."

"I...um...well..." she muttered helplessly.

"I'm sorry if my lecture's boring you but I would have assumed of all people here the commissioner's daughter would be interested in this criminology class."

"I-I am. I promise! I just...had a long night is all," she explained lamely.

"Well in the future I suggest you wait until the weekend to do your partying"

Again another round of laughs started as Barbara dipped her head and slowly slid down into her seat to appear as small as possible. Thankfully she didn't have to deal with the humiliation that much longer as class ended not soon after her rude awaking. She quickly shoved her things into her backpack, slung it over her shoulder and raced out of the class as fast as she could. She didn't slow down until she was out of the building and halfway to where her next class was held. As her pace matched that of the other students around her she let out a small sigh and shook her head to clear out the lingering cobwebs.

_Okay _that_ was just a weird,_ she mused. _I mean it's bad enough I feel asleep in class but that dream..._

She grew a bit flustered as bits of the dream flashed through her mind. She shook her head more vigorously to chase the thoughts away.

_Okay this whole thing is definitely weighing on my mind more than I thought,_ she rationalized. _I know I could deal with it if I could just talk to Ivy about it but I've had _no_ luck at finding her. Like at all. I'm beginning to think someone's just having fun watching me squirm._

She pushed those thoughts aside as she opened the door into the hall for her next class. She was _really_ hoping her next class would be a little more engaging and keep her thoughts from lingering back to her current problem. She just wanted to have a little while where she _wasn't_ thinking about it. Unfortunately she arrived early and would have to wait until the last class let out. Hoping it would keep her mind occupied she grabbed a copy of the school paper from the stand near the entrance then sat down in front of the class door and started to flip through it.

As usual it was filled mostly pretty plain stories about school activities and its various sports teams and a few things happening elsewhere in Gotham. The entertainment section had an article on some local bands and the movie reviews were okay but nothing really held her attention. What _did_ catch her eye, however, was one of the opinion articles about an old greenhouse the university owned but left abandoned for years now. According to the article, university officials stopped caring for it because it began to cost them too much money to keep it running given that it was a few miles away from the university. The author of the article made a case for the university to reopen and refurbish is by redirecting a few funds from other programs, but she had this sneaking suspicion someone else had already moved in.

_It's probably a long shot, but it would make sense. It's close enough to campus for her to be able to get to my dorm room quickly enough and far enough away so that no one would notice her. Heck a lot of people probably don't even know about it. And what better place for Poison Ivy to hide than an abandoned green house?_ Barbara theorized. _Feels kind of convenient though. I mean, what are the odds the school's paper would lead me to both Catwoman and then Ivy right when I needed to talk to them? Million to one I bet. Probably be have better odds playing the lottery. Still I've got no other leads so I might as well check it out tonight and see what happens. _

* * *

"I really _should have_ played the lottery," Batgirl grumbled to herself.

Once the safe cover of night fell, Barbara had quickly donned her costume and made a beeline for the abandoned greenhouse. She had carefully hidden her bike then scaled a tree a few yards from the glass building so as not to give herself away and to get a better look at what was going on inside. Much to her surprise when she took a peek at it through her binoculars she found it filled with lush plants and shrubs. Certainly not something one would expect to find in a greenhouse that had sat unused for years. It _was_, however, what one would expect to find in a greenhouse currently being used by Gotham's resident plant girl.

It was a revelation that still confused Batgirl a bit.

"I mean seriously, two good leads in the past week?" she mused quietly. "Who knew the school paper could actually be _useful_? Or maybe someone up there actually _does_ like me."

She mused over that fact as she lowered her binoculars and put them back in her utility belt.

"Well let's hope my luck holds out and I can actually get in there without alerting Ivy. Last thing I need right now is to get into a fight with her and her killer plants."

She fired a zip line towards one of the trees overlooking the greenhouse and swung carefully onto the roof. She used all her gymnastic skills to plant her feet on the steel structures between the cracked and broken panes of glass. She prowled around the roof for a moment until she found a whole big enough for her to slide in through. She paused when she heard soft music coming from the inside of the greenhouse. It was classical music but she couldn't quite tell which composer it was. She could understand the intent though. It was the kind of music used to sooth plants and make them grow bigger. Despite the situation, Batgirl couldn't help but smile a bit. Even before her transformation, Pam always did treat plants like pets or children. There was something oddly reassuring that at least that part of her personality hadn't changed. In fact it had probably been in enhanced more than anything.

_Come on Barbara head in the game, _she scolded herself. _You finally found her so don't waste anymore time and just do this thing._

She nodded to herself determinately then dove through the broken window and landed soundlessly on one of the metal beams high above the greenhouse's floor. She stuck to the shadows to avoid detection and from what she could see Ivy was preoccupied tending to some potted plants. With any luck she could make a loop around and get behind Ivy before she could notice she was there.

Unfortunately for Batgirl her approach didn't go as undetected as she had hoped. While Ivy hadn't noticed her arrival the plants populating the greenhouse certainly did and they were quick to inform their mistress. It was only a slight shift in the leaves on the plants but to the green skinned redhead it was a loud warning cry.

"Yes I know she's there," she said in a soothing tone to the plant she held in her hands. "I just want to give her a little more rope before I spring the trap."

Ivy continued to take care of the potted plants on the table in front of her, acting completely oblivious to the fact that Batgirl was slowly sneaking up on her. The right side of her mouth crooked back into a smug grin as two of her vines silently trailed behind the hero to set up her own trap. She waited for her to get a few steps closer until she finally couldn't contain herself anymore.

"You know Batgirl..." she started calmly, not even turning around.

The unexpected remarked caused Batgirl to stop in her tracks in surprise.

"...not to take away from your impressive stalking skills but it very hard to sneak up on me in my own element. Now _I_ on the other hand..."

She let her statement be finished by the two vines behind Batgirl that quickly shot forward and wrapped around the young heroine's ankles and pulled her into the air. Batgirl let out a surprised yelp at the sudden sensation of being yanked off the ground and being turned upside down. Once she recovered from the bout of dizziness from being tossed around and a bit of blood rushing to her head, she pulled out two ice tablets from her utility belt and tossed them towards the vines. They froze over instantly and became brittle enough for Batgirl to swing herself upward and shatter them with two well placed punches. She flipped down to the floor of the greenhouse and stared back at Ivy.

"I really _hate_ those ice pellets," Ivy grumbled.

"Ivy, listen, before you do anything else I'm _not_ here to fight you. I just want to talk," Batgirl tried to reason with her.

Ivy glanced off to the right as if she were thinking the proposal over.

"Nope, not in the mood to talk right now," she replied then cocked back the hand holding the plant. "But I _am_ in the mood to play...catch!"

With that she toss the small plant forward. It's leaves separated into something that resembled a gapping maw of some kind of nightmarish creature. The roots broke free from the pot they had been confined to and began to flail around in tendril like fashion, just waiting to wrap around something and most likely squeeze the life out of it. Batgirl only had about three seconds to take the sight in before the plant wrapped it's leaves around her head. She threw her hands up to block the roots but they just wrapped around her wrists. She stumbled blindly around the greenhouse in a panic as her air supply was being cut off by the leaves over her mouth and nose.

Ivy just smiled wickedly as she watched the hero thrash around violently.

"Do you like it?" she asked gleefully. "It's something new I've been working on. I admit I got the idea after watching an 'Alien' marathon, but it's _such_ an effective little thing. Don't worry though, it won't ingest you with a plant spore that will brust out of your stomach, it'll just choke you to death."

Oddly enough, Batgirl found no comfort in that fact. Of course she wasn't really paying attention to Ivy's ranting as she was preoccupied with trying to get air back into her lungs. After several seconds of struggling she was finally able to free her left hand from the root tentecal's grasp and routed around in her belt for a bit. She pulled out a small aerosol can and held it as closely to the attacking plant as she could then gave it a good spray. The plant loosened it's grip as it convulsed wildy and Batgirl could swear she heard it let out a squeal of pain. When it was done thrashing, it laid limp against her face and she quickly yanked it off so she could take a few deep breaths. She glanced over at Ivy who was staring at her in confusion and anger. Despite herself, Batgirl couldn't help but smirk a bit as she held up the can.

"A concentrated herbicide," she explained. "Or as Robin likes to call it 'Bat Plant Replant'."

Ivy continued to stare at her.

"Yeah, I don't like it either."

"How much of that stuff do you actually have?"

"Enough to handle your little face hugger plants there."

The green girl scowled deeply for a second before her face took on a more calm expression.

"Fine. Then I guess we'll just have to do this the old fashioned way. Get 'er boys!" she commanded angrily.

The ground shook a bit as two large Venus Fly Traps erupted from the depths of the greenhouse and started to swoop down on Batgirl.

"Oh I _hate_ those things!" she muttered as she tossed away the dead plant in her hand.

It smacked against the stereo on a nearby table playing the classical music and inadvertently switched it over to the radio. Had she not been busy dodging the killer plants, Batgirl might have found a certainly irony in the station playing Three Day Grace's "I Hate Everything About You" but instead she focused on staying alive while the music blared throughout the greenhouse.

_Every time we lie awake  
After every hit we take_

She grunted as branch from one of the larger shrubs lashed out and knocked her to the ground as she tried to jump away from one of the fly traps.

_  
Every feeling that I get  
But I haven't missed you yet_

She rolled away as it came down on her but she was slapped in the face by another one of the shrubs. She glared angrily at it but didn't get time to do anything else as she flipped away from another attacking Venus Fly Trap.

_Every roommate kept awake  
By every sigh and scream we make  
All the feelings that I get  
But I still don't miss you yet_

It wasn't long before she flipping and jumping all over the place as it seem liked every plant in the greenhouse was out to get her and knowing Ivy's state of mind they probably were. She tossed a few more ice pellets around to slow them down and bounced off some of the remaining glass walls to out maneuver the plants. As she continued to avoid all the killer plants she couldn't help but muse over how this was _not_ how she wanted this meeting to go.

_Only when I stop to think about it_

She knew this wasn't going to be a walk in the park, so to speak, but she hadn't expected it to devolve into a fight for survival quite _this_ quickly. To make matters worse she really wasn't sure how much she could actually fight back since these plants were essentially Ivy's children and hurting or killing them wouldn't exactly put her in her good graces. But of course she wasn't about to let herself become mulch either. Added to all this were her new found feelings for her former best friend and the feelings she _knew _Ivy had for Barbara Gordon, but not for Batgirl. To say the whole situation was complicated was putting it mildly.

_I hate everything about you  
Why do I love you  
I hate everything about you  
Why do I love you_

She back flipped onto to the head of one of the fly traps and sprayed a blast of her herbicide directly into it's gapping maw. The plant shuddered and started to thrash around violently before it started to topple over. Batgirl steadied herself for the ride as she kept track of Ivy and prepared an attacked directly on her to try to give herself some breathing room.

"Sorry Red," she whispered under her breath before she launched herself off the dying plant monster.

She soared through the air in a flying kick position and buried the heel of her foot directly into Ivy's abdomen. The villainess let out a pained grown as the wind was knocked out of her and she was sent sailing backwards.

_Every time we lie awake  
After every hit we takeEvery feeling that I get  
But I haven't missed you yet_

Batgirl took a defensive stance when she landed and watched Ivy carefully as she slowly pulled herself up.

"Look I'm sorry I had to do that but we _really_ need to talk," she tried again.

"I've got nothing to say to do you Bratgirl except...DIE!" Ivy shouted, seeking even more vine tendrils after the redheaded heroine.

"Great this is going _so_ well," Batgirl muttered as tossed a few buzz saw bladed Batarangs towards the vines.

_Only when I stop to think about it_

She launched a zip line towards the roof to try to get some height advantage but it was snapped in half by the other fly trap.

"Right, forgot about that one," she mused as she fell.

She used one of the vines flailing about to break her fall by grabbing it and swinging herself onto it. She ran along the length of it until she could jump off of it to try to land safely on the ground. Unfortunately this was right when the other fly trap decided to swoop underneath and swallow her up.

_I hate everything about you  
Why do I love you  
I hate everything about you  
Why do I love you_

She punched and kicked against the inside of the carnivorous plant to keep from being melted by it's acids. Thankfully they seemed to be rather slow acting and mild at first but she _really_ didn't want to find out if it got any worse. She fumbled around a bit before she found two more buzz saw blade Batarangs and used them to cut throw the creature. It whipped around wildly in pain before it spit her out and sent her crashing to the ground. She groaned a bit in pain as she slowly picked herself up and rubbed her aching head.

"Oh Batgirl," Ivy called out in a mockingly sweet tune. "Those 'Face Huggers' were just one of the things I've been working on. I'd like you to meet my _other _project."

Batgirl watched wearily as the vines and shrubs moved aside to reveal a large shrub shaped like a rhino that most people would find on some rich person's lawn or on the grounds of an upscale hotel. The main difference between those ones and the one she was currently facing is that those ones usually don't _move_. Actually charging was more like it and it was heading straight towards her.

"Oh you've _got_ to be kidding," she mumbled to herself.

Unfortunately she was too sore and disoriented from her fight to get out of the Venus Fly Trap that she couldn't move in time and had to brace herself as the shrub rhino ran into her. She let out a yelp of pain as it's thorny horn jammed itself into her stomach and she was picked up by the charging beast. It continued to run through the length of the greenhouse until it crashed through some of the panes of glass.

_I hate everything about you  
Why do I love you  
I hate everything about you  
Why do I love you_

The leafy beast continued to charge through the field where the greenhouse sat until Batgirl finally found the strength to drop an ice pellet into it. Like the vines from earlier it stopped dead in its tracks as it froze over. The sudden stop resulted in Batgirl being tossed off of it and rolling along the damp grass a few feet. As she laid there recovering from the, thankfully minor, injuries she could still hear the song from the greenhouse's stereo wafting through the cool night air.

_Only when I stop to think  
About you, I know  
Only when you stop to think  
About me, do you know_

She let out another groan as she ignored the pain in her muscles and tried to pull herself up again. Unfortunately before she could even get to her knees a large vine erupted from the ground and wrapped around her body, holding her tightly. She struggled as much as she could but it was no use. She could only watch helplessly as Ivy strode confidently open to her with a satisfied smirk on her face.

"So now that I've caught my prey what oh what should I do with it?" she teased as she leaned against the edge of the vine and put her face directly in front of Batgirl's. "I suppose I could just kill you now but that seems too...easy after all that hard work. Guess I'll just send a message to Papa Bat and let him know I have one of his favorite kids. But first...I think I'll have a little peek under that mask."

Batgirl's eyes went wide in horror as Ivy slowly slipped her thumbs under the edges of her mask.

"No! Wait! You don't want to-" she started to protest.

But it was too late. With a quick flip of her wrists Ivy had pulled back the black cowl to expose Batgirl's true face. Needless to say she was stunned into silence. She had always wondered who that annoying redhead in the mask was but she never would have suggested it to be...

"Red?" she asked in an almost whimpering voice.

"Hey Red," Barbara replied with a weak smile.

_I hate everything about you  
Why do I love you  
You hate everything all about me  
Why do you love me_

"No. No," Ivy muttered as she backed away and shook her head in horror. "It _can't_ be! You _can't_ be Batgirl!"

"But...I am."

Ivy continued to shake her head in disbelief. This couldn't be happening! The only person she ever really liked. The girl she cared about. The one she came to...love. _She_ was...was Batgirl?!

_I hate_

But they had just been fighting! They had _been_ fighting ever since Batgirl showed up to help Batman against her when she first became Poison Ivy. She was just another do-gooder trying to stop her! She wasn't her best friend!

_You hate_

But she _wasn't_ her best friend! She was her enemy! Always stopping her plans and putting her back in Arkham! What kind of friend was that?! Just like she said she _wasn't_ her friend, she was her enemy. And she had to pay!

_I hate_

She whipped her head back towards the captive Barbara, no Batgirl, and was about to send a command to her vine to crush the life out of the traitorous witch. But the command left as quickly as it came when she saw the expression on Barbara's face. There was a hint of fear in there of course, but it was mostly remorse mixed with sadness and compassion. She could swear she even saw a bit of...love in those big, brown eyes.

_You love me_

"No. No," she continued to whimper. "It wasn't...supposed to be like this."

She buried her face in her hands as she slowly fell to her knees. Tears began to well up in the corners of her eyes as it slowly dawned on her that she couldn't bring herself to kill her best friend and the object of her affection. It was just made worse by the fact that that girl was also her worst enemy. Friend? Enemy? The same? She just couldn't...couldn't handle it. What was she supposed to do now? Where did she go from here?

_I hate everything about you  
Why do I love you _

As the conflicting emotions finally overcame Ivy and she broke down into a sobbing heap, the control she had over the vine holding Barbara wavered and it slowly unwound itself. She quickly pulled herself free and slipped her mask back on incase someone else happened to walk by. It was _only_ out of necessity that she did so because she _really_ didn't want to face her friend with the face of an enemy. She needed to be comforted right now, but Batgirl also knew the last thing she wanted to look at was the mask of the girl she had just tossed around like a ragdoll.

But of course that was the whole crux of the matter. She wanted nothing more than to comfort her crying friend but they were still a super hero and a super villain. By all rights she should have used this time to secure Ivy and take her back to Arkham. But that wouldn't help tension between them at all, would it? So she had to decide whether she wanted to be a hero or a friend right now.

"Screw it, I'll be a hero later," Barbara said with a newfound determination.

She walked carefully over to the still sobbing Ivy, not wanting to startle her and start up the fight again but she also wanted her to know she was there for her. She placed her hands on the other girl's shoulders and kneeled down in front of her. Ivy picked her head up out of her hands and stared up into the pure white lenses of Batgirl's mask with her now red and puffy eyes. For the longest moment they just stared at each other, neither of them really sure what to say in this situation. The wind blew gently around them, blowing Barbara's cape a bit as they continued to stare at each other.

Their statuesque stillness was finally broken when Barbara slowly leaned forward and placed her lips over Ivy's warm, green lips in an unexpected kiss. They were quite frankly both surprised by the action, but Ivy quickly overcame her surprise and placed her hands on the small of Barbara's back as the younger redhead reached up to stroke a green tinted cheek. They held the kiss for several perfect seconds. Forgetting all the troubles it would cause and pain it might bring later and instead focused on how good it felt to be in the others' embrace.

Sadly this moment came to an abrupt end when Ivy's eyes snapped open and she pulled way almost violently from Batgirl.

"Wha...?" the confused redhead mumbled.

"No! You...I...we..." the plant girl stammered incoherently.

"Red what's going on?" Batgirl tried again.

"No...You...just...ARGH!"

Ivy roughly shoved the other girl away before she sprang to her feet and called another vine up from the ground. Instead of attacking the confused Batgirl, however, she merely used it to ride off into the night sky. Batgirl continued to stare and blink blankly as the vine slowly disappeared back into the earth to signal that Ivy was now long gone.

"Wh-what just happened?" she asked herself in confusion.

Then she felt it. A slight shiver going down her spine as the hairs on the back of her neck stood up even under her tight costume. She hadn't heard the approach but she didn't need to turn around to confirm it, she could just _feel_ that _he_ was standing right behind her.

"I think we need to have another talk," Batman stated in a low, grim growl that made the shiver in her spine even worse.

_Oh...crap,_ Batgirl thought helplessly.

**To Be Continued...**

**Author's Notes: **Once again this chapter took me much longer than I meant it too but in addition to work just being exhausting I've also had to deal with some...unpleasantness that kind of ruined the writing mood for me for awhile. Let's just say it's not been a good last two weeks for me.

But enough about that. The chapter's done and the story is getting thicker! Barbara's finally come to a conclusion about her feelings for Ivy but as you can see things didn't quite go the way she wanted. Not only did Ivy run out on her in a confused daze but big, bad Batman caught...well you'll just have to wait til the next chapter to see just how much of that exchange he caught and what the fall out will be. Yes I know I'm horrible but hey it's just too much fun to write cliffhangers.

I _do_ have to make a few notes regarding some of the images in this chapter. Mainly that some of them where inspired by some very excellent pics over on DA. The first being Babs' sleep attire in the dream section of the fic. It was inspired by Shoxxe's very lovely piece found here:

http:// shoxxe. / art/ Batman-Barbara- Gordon-Nightie- 84853993

And of course TM2DB's great colorzation of said pic here:

http:// .com /art/ Babs-No-peeking- 95624599

The scene of Batgirl and Ivy kissing was inspired by AngelicKitty89's wonderful pic, that she did two years ago for me, right here:

http:// angelickitty89. / art/ Batgirl-and-Poison-Ivy- II-81888776

All of which should work if you just fill in the blanks cause of FF.N's stupid linking rule. I recommend you check them all out as they're all great pics. At least I think they are.

The use of Three Day Grace's song "I Hate Everything About You" was originally planned for my Kim Possible fic "Seeing Double" but at the time I couldn't remember who sang the song so I couldn't look up the lyrics and went with another song. But once I was able to look up the lyrics I realized they worked quite well for not only this fic but that scene in particular. In fact I'm quite proud of how it turned out and I know not everyone is into songfics and if you're not sorry but I really liked it and suggest checking out the song.

Alright that's enough of my ramblings. I'm off to rest up and hopefully get started on the next chapter soon.


	4. The Conflict

**Disclaimer: **_The Characters from "The Batman" are owned by DC Comics, Warner Bros., Bob Kane and God knows how many other people by now. This is a story done purely for fun and not to make profit whatsoever. Any original characters that may appear belong to the writer and can be used with permission. _

**Knightshade**

**Chapter 4: The Conflict**

After a rather long, silent and unbelievably tense ride back to the Batcave, Barbara was treated for the, thankfully minor, injuries she received during the fight with Ivy. Though even the burning, stinging feelings from the iodine Alfred swabbed them with was much more preferable to what she was going to have to deal with next. There was a knot retying itself several times in her stomach as she walked towards the main section of the Batcave. The knot then seemed to burst into flames when she got there and found Batman standing completely still with his arms crossed over his chest and scowling even more than usual. The back lighting from the main computer screen behind covered him mostly in shadow which made the solid white lenses of his mask look even more piercing. In fact the way the light caught them it almost seemed like they were glowing from his anger. Which honestly wouldn't surprise her at this point.

She began to feel _very_ uneasy under his intense glare and so tore her eyes away from him to notice Robin standing off to the side. Like her he looked a little nervous, but also slightly confused about something. Not that she could blame him of course, she was at the middle of this whole thing and it _still_ confused her just a bit. She was also beginning to feel a bit exposed when she realized they both still had their masks on while she had hers pulled back. She had thought about slipping her cowl back on to level the playing field but was afraid any sudden movement might make Batman snap. Of course, he was already going to do that but she wanted to hold it off for as long as she could.

She cringed just a bit when it looked like he was about to open his mouth to finally say something but was thankfully cut off by Robin quickly speaking up.

"So...you _kissed_ Ivy?" he asked unsurely.

Barbara rolled her eyes a bit at the tone of question then let out a deep sigh.

"Yes," she said quickly and firmly, hoping he would drop it quickly.

"_After_ she unmasked you," Batman almost growled.

The restrained anger in the statement sent another shiver down her spine as she slowly turned her attention back to the scowling super hero. Now she was almost wishing Robin _would_ make some more immature comments about the whole thing since it would delay her having to deal with Batman's wrath that much longer. Unfortunately, the floodgates were now open and all she could do was brace herself.

"Well...yeah but I _was_ tied up by a bunch of vines at the time," she tried to defend herself.

"Which you could have avoided if you didn't try to take Ivy on your own," Batman countered her.

She cringed again at the accusation but then cocked an eyebrow when she realized an important detail that event.

"Wait a minute, _you_ were there too so why didn't you try to help me?" she demanded.

"Oooh good question!" Robin cheered.

Batman just glanced over at his young ward which caused him to raise his hands in defeat and shrink back a bit. The Dark Knight then turned his attention back to his other sidekick.

"I didn't help because I arrived _just_ as she was unmasking you," he explained in a calm, and yet still menacing, voice.

"Oh," Barbara deflated a bit. "Well that still brings up the question of how you even found me."

"There's a Bat-Wave transmitter installed in your Batcycle. I've been following it ever since you decided to take time to yourself."

Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped in shock, horror and most if all betrayal.

"You've been keeping tabs on me?" she shouted indignantly. "That's like...a complete invasion of my privacy!"

"I was only doing it to make sure you were going to be alright and see if you were going to get into any trouble. Judging by what happened I'd say it was the right call."

Any fear Barbara before was quickly replaced with incredulous anger. She couldn't believe he had just said that. So what if he was Batman, that didn't give him the right to talk to her like a child.

"I was having an off night!" she defended herself again. "It's not like _you_ haven't been backed into a corner a couple times yourself. I mean, who was it that lost their memory while trying to stop Penguin, huh?"

Batman's eye narrowed dangerously. "That's not the point."

"I think it is," she returned as she crossed her arms over her chest to match his stance. "At the time you were trying to push me away from helping you just like I was doing tonight. I guess that means going solo isn't a good idea for _any_ of us, is it?"

"I'd like to point out that I haven't gone solo yet," Robin interjected.

This time they both glared at him. Again he shrank back, this time pressing himself up against the Bat computer as much as he could to make himself appear invisible. The two bats quickly forgot about him though as their turned their intense glares on each other once more.

"_I_ started out solo," Batman started to explain.

"Oh really? Cause I think Alfred would beg to differ with you there," Barbara pointed out, raising a finger to emphasis her point.

"That's-" he started but quickly shook his head. "We're getting away from the point here."

"Yeah that I was unmasked. I know. Trust me I don't like it anymore than you do but _don't_ try to make it _my_ fault! I mean we've just been _extremely_ lucky that none of the bad guys have tried that before. Can you honestly tell me that no one's tried to pull back _your_ cowl before?"

Batman's scowl deepened at the remark as it made him remember the two closest calls _he_ had with that very problem. The first was when he had been knocked unconscious in one of his early battles with Ethan's Clayface and was at the mercy of his former partner Detective Yin. It was only by sheer luck, and a bit of emotional distress, that she didn't follow through with her promise to unmask him. Oddly enough the second almost unmasking also involved Yin when they were both captured by the Riddler. That time his secret identity was spared only by the Riddler's own compulsions to not get an "easy answer".

Both instances showed how easy it could be for any of them to be unmasked and it was certainly an issue he was working on. Still it did lend a certain amount of credence to Batgirl's argument.

"Fair enough," he conceded with a slight nod. "But that still doesn't resolve our biggest problem right now."

"Yeah I know, I know," Barbara sighed as she rolled her head back. "The biggest problem now is that Ivy knows I'm-"

"Batgirl!" Ivy shouted angrily as she stomped across the floor. "She's Batgirl!"

She growled in frustration and cursed under her breath as she continued to pace over the old dirt floor. With the greenhouse compromised the only place she could think to go in her agitated state was her old hideout under the Baudelaires store. She was hoping none of the bats would think to track her down there but at the moment she almost _wished_ they would.

"Especially that traitorous little _witch_ Batgirl!" she snapped to no one as she slumped down into her rosebud recliner.

She plopped her head down on the palm of her left hand while she drummed her fingers of her right hand on the arm of the chair. The leaves that made up the body of the chair rustled a bit under the rhythmic movements of her fingers she was too caught up in her own frustrated thoughts to pay it any attention.

"Batgirl," she muttered for what felt like the thousandth time. "Red is _Batgirl_! I just...I don't believe it! _Why_ would she be Batgirl? _I_ went to her first and asked her to join me on my crusade to save the planet after becoming Poison Ivy! But instead of going with her 'best friend' she decided go with...the Bat?"

She let out another wrathful scream and jumped up from the chair to start wandering around the cavernous room again. In the course of her heated walking she stumbled across the remains of the pods she had used to keep the citizens of Gotham alive while their plant doubles did her bidding in the city. She knelt down and idly played with one of the limp, transparent pink petals that laid half decompose in the dirt. She had almost succeeded in her plan to "Green Up Gotham" and _only_ failed because the Bat Duo got in her way. Of course she really had no one to blame but herself for that misfortune since she thought it would be just such a _great_ idea to create plant clones of them rather than disposing of them right away.

"I should have _killed _them when I had the chance!" she growled at her own stupidity.

Her brows furrowed in determination as she slowly rose to her feet.

"Next time I _will_ kill them! Starting with my supposedly 'best friend' Batgirl! No!" she quickly remarked as a sadistic smirk crossed her face. "I'll kill _Batman_ first. Yes, let her watch her precious mentor die. Then I'll kill that Boy Blunder Robin. Yeah that should do it. Let her suffer first by watching her friends die in front of her. _Then_ I'll turn my attention do her! And then...then...then..."

She looked skyward and raised her right arm above her head as if she were about to make some profound statement or swear her undying vengeance to the heavens above. Instead her arm fell limply at her side again and she hung her head with a sigh, sorrowful sigh.

"Oh who am I kidding?" she muttered.

She willed another piece of shrubby furniture to life behind her, this time shaped like a bed. Once it was finished growing she let her body go limp and fall back onto it. She crossed her arms behind her head and stared up at the rocky cavern ceiling in deep thought. She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly through her nose while she continued to mull everything over in her head.

"I can't hurt her," she finally confessed to herself.

As she continued to think about it she chuckled just a bit in disbelief.

"In love with a stupid superhero," she shook her head. "Oh Ivy what are you going to do?"

"So what are you going to do?" Batman pressed Barbara.

"I don't know, okay?" the redhead shouted and threw her arms up in exasperation.

She then lowered her head and began to rub her forehead to try to stave off the headache all this was bringing on.

"I just...I just need some more time to think this all through," she pleaded.

"Seems like the last time you thought it over you ended up being unmasked," Batman countered.

Barbara's eyebrows furrowed and she ground her teeth before her head shot up again to glare at him.

"Are you _still_ on that?" she snapped. "Yes I got unmasked but now that I think about it I seem to remember hearing that something like that _did_ happen to you! So what do you say boss, should I just get Joker to gas Ivy like you let him gas Wrath and Scorn after they figured out _your_ identity?"

Batman quirked an eyebrow behind his cowl then pointedly looked over at Robin.

"You _told_ her?" he asked in disbelief.

"Was I not supposed to?" Robin asked back with a shrug of his shoulders. "Just seemed like something she should know."

"Aha!" Barbara exclaimed as she pointed an accusing finger at Batman. "So _there's_ something _you_ were trying to keep from _me_! So how is that any difference than this?"

"Because neither Wrath nor I had any romantic feelings for each other," he stated simply.

"Yeah cause that would be kinda weird," Robin added.

Barbara gave him a slightly offended glare.

"What do you mean by 'weird'?" she asked pointedly.

The Boy Wonder's eyes went wide in horror when he realized what he had just said. He backed up and waved his hands erratically to try to ward off any further comment or physical attack.

"No! No! I didn't mean it like _that_!" he tried to defend himself.

"Then how _did_ you mean it?" the redhead asked, narrowing her eyes dangerously.

"I just...meant that...whole hero/villain thing..." he paused and realized the issues with that statement, "I mean not that _that's_ weird either but...um...I...I think I'm gonna shut up now."

"Good idea," she nodded.

"Let's just get back to the topic at hand," Batman spoke up, interrupting their bickering.

"You mean you tell me how much I messed up?" Barbara asked in a snarky tone.

"That's _not_ what I was doing."

"Well it sure_ seems_ that way," she muttered as she crossed her arms over her chest and turned away from him.

Now it was Batman's turn to sigh and rub one of his temples. "I'm just trying to point out to you that you made a...misstep."

"You mean mistake!" the young heroine snapped as she spun on her heel towards him.

"If you want me to say it, then fine, you made a mistake by allowing yourself to be unmasked. But your _first_ mistake was not trusting us to begin with."

"And honestly how exactly _would_ you have reacted had I told you?" she pressed.

"I would have said that regardless of gender it's not a good idea for heroes and villains to date."

"Ha! Have you told that one to Catwoman yet?"

Batman narrowed his eyes. "What's that supposed to me?"

"Oh don't give me that!" Barbara snapped, jabbing an accusing finger at him. "I was there with you two when we get to Kilgore Steed's island, remember? I could've cut the tension between you with a machete."

"Yeah I _did_ kinda get a weird vibe between you two during that whole Rumor incident," Robin piped in.

"See? Robin agrees with me."

Batman looked between his two sidekicks as his patience began to wear thin.

"Catwoman's a special case," he said offhandedly.

"Oh really?" Barbara asked indignantly. "And what exactly makes _her_ makes her so 'special'?"

"Because she hasn't tried to kill anyone."

The redhead blinked at the straight forward, and quite frankly true, answer.

"Okay, you've got a point there," she started again hesitantly, "but Ivy's only _tried_ to kill people and hasn't actually succeeded. So there's no actual blood on her hands."

"Yet," Batman quickly added. "But the fact that she's tried proves she's unstable."

"Which is the whole reason we have Arkham, right? I mean it's there to _help_ people, isn't it? _We're_ here to help people! Not just the ones being mugged or the victims of some the crazies but help the crazies as well. We're supposed to put them in Arkham and let them get rehabilitated and become productive members of society, right? If we don't try to do that anymore then what's even the _point_ of all this?" Barbara cried out, throwing her hands into the air in frustration again.

Despite the redhead's emotional outburst, the Dark Knight kept his cool as he watched her pace back and fourth.

"Barbara, I appreciate your intentions but the sad fact is that there are some people who simply can't be helped."

"What about Ethan Bennett?"

Batman's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"What about him?" he ask in a low growl.

"Everyone said he was beyond help too but _you_ never gave up on him," she pointed out.

"That's different. Ethan's mind was corrupted by the Joker and he was suffering trauma from his physical transformation."

"Just like Pam probably suffered from her transformation into Ivy?" she shot back with a slight smirk.

"Except that she already had a criminal record before then."

"So _now_ you're judging my choice of friends, is that it?"

"No, that's not what I said."

"That's what you're _implying_. And because of all that we should just throw Ivy back into Arkham and never let her out again."

"You're putting words into my mouth," Batman responded heatedly.

"Because you never actually _say_ anything!" Barbara snapped.

"You want me to say something? Fine. I don't approve of this...relationship."

Barbara's eyebrows shot up in surprise at the bluntest of his statement but then quickly furrowed in anger. Her hands balled tightly into fists and she ground her teeth slightly. She couldn't believe it! She just couldn't believe it. She didn't know _why_ she was so surprised because it seemed par the course for him. Maybe it was just the flat out _refusal _to give her _any_ kind of help. After everything she had done for _him_ he couldn't do this one thing for _her_? And it wasn't like she was asking him to completely wipe out Ivy's criminal record but help her on the road to redemption. Sure that road included them becoming more than friends but that's probably what was going to help turn Ivy the most. And he didn't _approve_ of that?

"Well it's a good thing I don't _need_ your approval then, isn't it?" she snarled, jabbing a finger in the center of the bat symbol on his chest. "After all you're just my _boss_, not my _father_!"

Her eyes immediately in horror and she cupped her hands over her mouth in a vain attempt to get those words back. Unfortunately it was far too late. A tense, eerie silence fell over the cave as both Barbara and Robin waited to see how Batman would react to the indirect, but quite brutal, insult. True to his usual stoic nature, Batman showed no physical signs that the remark effected him at all. The only thing he did was to lower his arms so his cape could wrap completely around his body. For such a simple and nondescript action though it sure sent a big chill down Barbara's spine. So much so that she actually took a step back as her arms fell limply at her sides.

"That's true," he finally spoke up in an even colder voice than usual, "but somehow I doubt he'd approve of this situation anymore than I do."

With that he simply turned around and walked off to a different part of the Batcave, quickly melting into the shadows surrounding the trio. Even though he was gone the tension still hung in the air as Barbara and Robin remained silent for several seconds. They fidgeted nervously for a moment before the Boy Wonder finally looked over to his fellow sidekick.

"I really don't think you should have said that Babs," he remarked, hoping to get a rise out of her be using her least favorite nickname.

"Yeah. Me neither," she replied quietly before she herself walked off into the shadows.

Robin looked back and forth between the two directions as he tried to figure out what he should do the help the situation. He quickly shook his head though and sat down in front of the Bat Computer.

"I think the best thing to do right now it just stay out of it," he told himself and shook his head again slowly. "Man, relationships are complicated. Think I'll stay out of one for as long as I can. "

Ivy counted the stalactites as she continued to stare up at the ceiling of the cave. She had started counting in an effort to take her mind off the emotional turmoil she was going through but after reaching number 150 those thoughts began to creep back into the forefront of her mind. She let out an annoyed sigh before she rolled over onto her side and stared at the empty space on her leafy bed. She reached out with her left hand and gently stroked the soft petals and leaves. While she still enjoyed their tender touch she now found herself wishing there was something else fill that space. Or rather _someone_ else. A nice warm body with whom to share her bed of roses.

Which is something she honestly _never_ thought she would want. Of course she had never planned on having feelings for a person as strongly as she did for plants either. Yet here she was, pining away for one Barbara Gordon. Just like the last few weeks at Arkham before she gave herself an early release to go find the objection of her newfound affections. Although had she known that girl was going to end up being _Batgirl_ she never would have left her cell.

_Well not for that reason at least,_ she thought as she rolled onto her back once more. '_Course none of this really helps me answer the question of what exactly _am_ I going to do? I can't hurt Barbara, I already realized that. I guess I could try to get her to see _my_ side of things but the last time I tried that it didn't end well. _She let out a bitter chuckle. _Actually the last time I did that is what made her become Batgirl. So...go me!_

She let out a frustrated growl as she pulled herself up on the leafy bed. She folded her legs under herself to sit Indian style so she could her head up on her left palm once again. She pursed her lips as she went over the options in her head one more time.

_If I can't fight Red and she won't join me willingly then maybe..._ she mused.

She then ran her right hand through her rosebud shaped hair and when she pulled it back out she sparkling pink plant spores. Her own special brand that allowed her to control people's minds.

_Although I've never actually used these on a woman before. Not even sure if they would work_, she thought with a slight stroke of her chin. _Still if it _did_ then Red would be under my control and _have_ to do whatever I tell her. Then we could _both_ fight for the cause of Mother Nature! We'd be an unbeatable team! _A salacious smile then crossed her green lips as her thoughts turned to more private matters. _Then when we were alone and celebrating our victory she could _really_ do whatever I wanted her to do. Or do _to_ me. And there are so many things I could do to her in return..._

A warm tingle spread throughout her body at those thoughts but they quickly receded along with her smile when she realized _exactly_ what she was talking about.

_But that wouldn't be Barbara. Not the one I know at least. No the one I feel for. She'd be nothing but a slave. A...living sex doll. I don't want that,_ she thought shamefully. _That's definitely _not_ what I want._

She tilted her hand and let the spores slowly fall to the leafy mattress beneath her where they were quickly absorbed. She rubbed her hands together to shake off any remaining spores then laid back down on the bed. She folded her hands over her stomach and she crossed her ankles as she stared up at the cave ceiling once again.

_And now I'm right back to where I started. I'm just going in circles! There _has_ to be a solution!_ she thought in frustration.

She took in a deep breath and let it out in a quick, derisive sigh when the final option slowly started to dawn on her. It was one she _really_ didn't like but try as she might she couldn't think of an alternative. She rolled over onto her stomach to bury her face into the rosebud pillow and let out an almost pained groan. After a few seconds she finally picked her head up and slide off the bed. She rolled her shoulders and popped her neck before she started towards the exit that would take her back up to the shop above.

_I really don't think there's any way around this, but I might as well talk to Red before coming to a final decision. Fortunately I know just where to find her. I just hope this doesn't end up becoming one of the biggest mistakes of my life. _

_Not that I haven't already made a few of those, _she mused with a weary smile.

Barbara sat on the ledge to one of the cliffs in the deeper recesses of the Batcave. She swung her legs over it absently as she tried to figure out how everything went so wrong recently.

_Well I _definitely_ know it started when Ivy came to visit me,_ she realized. _After that everything just kinda snowballed out of control leading to...that..._thing_ I said._

She sighed and stared down into the black abyss below. It seemed rather appropriate since it felt like she had one of those in her stomach right now. There was no doubt about it, she had screwed up royally in serval different ways. Despite reacting in his usual...gruff way, Batman _did_ have a point about Ivy learning her secret identity. If she wanted to she could _really_ wreck her life and those of the people she cared about. While she desperately wanted to believe that Ivy wouldn't do that now, she still had to be somewhat objective and realize that it could in fact happen.

_Which is what Batman was trying to tell me,_ she chided herself. _He just went about it in a _really_ horrible way. In that 'I'm always right and you're always wrong because you're just a rookie' kind of way. _Her face scrunched up slightly. _And it gets _really_ annoying after awhile. _Her expression then softened in regret. _Still...I shouldn't have dropped a bomb like that. Maybe I should go apologize. _

However, when she actually thought about that prospect she shuddered a bit.

_In awhile. I should go apologize in awhile. When I'm certain he won't throw me to his pet bats,_ she rationalized. _So that just leaves me with one question; what the heck should I do now?_

The answer to that question came in unexpected form as her nose caught the familiar scent of freshly baked pastries. Before she could even turn her head in the direction the wonderful smell was coming from, a white gloved hand held out an immaculately cleaned silver platter filled with delicious treats next to her face.

"Hot buttered scone?" Alfred's voice asked in it's usual gentle tone.

Barbara turned to offer the elder English gentlemen a grateful smile as she took one of the scones off the tray.

"Thanks Alfred," she said softly before she took a bite.

"I've always found a good scone helps to cheer one up when they're feeling down," Alfred said sagely.

Barbara nodded until she finished her bite. "Well they certainly don't hurt that's for sure."

"I had a feeling you would be in need of one after that...unpleasantness earlier."

The redhead cringed a bit and looked sheepish up at him.

"You...heard that?"

"You would be amazed how well sound can travel in this cave."

She let out an embarrassed groan and buried her face in her hands. After a few seconds she finally pried her face away from them to glance up at Alfred with a hopeful look on her face.

"Do you...think he can forgive me?" she asked sheepishly.

"I think," he started softly yet firmly, "that a lot of things were said in the heat of the moment that no one really meant."

She took another bite of her scone as she thought that over.

"Yeah, yeah you're right," she said happily. "I mean I know _I_ didn't mean that. Well technically it's true but-"

"I think both I and Master Bruce know what you really mean," Alfred reassured her.

She nodded again as she picked up another scone from the tray and began to nibble on it absently. She then looked back up at Alfred again and tried to get a read on his usually stoic face. It was actually a lot like Batman's but at least with Alfred you could always feel the warmth behind that seemingly impassive face. Which made it only _slightly_ less awkward for her to ask the next question.

"So Alfred do you think this whole thing is...weird?" she questioned softly.

He quirked an eyebrow at her before the left corner of his mouth curled back slightly into an amused smirked.

"My dear, for the last few years of my life I have been helping a man in a bat suit run around the city fighting mob bosses and criminally insane. I believe your dilemma is the most normal situation I've dealt with in quite awhile," he explained to her.

Barbara chuckled around a mouthful of scone before her expression became unsure again.

"So...do _you_ think I'm doing the right thing?" she asked.

"I think you're trying to help a friend better herself and regardless of the outcome it shows your heart is in the right place. That is a trait not many people have these days and shows are you a truly kind and remarkable girl," he answered with a sincere smile. "As for the other part of your dilemma...well quite frankly the only people who should be considered about that are you and Ms. Isley. I'm sure once you two have figured it out certain others will come around."

The redhead gave him a grateful smile before finishing off her second scone.

"Thanks Alfred," she said softly. "I needed to hear that."

"All in a day's work Ms. Gordon," he smiled back. "Now if you'll excuse me I have a few other chores I must attend to."

"Right, right but...um...could you...leave the tray?" she asked with a lopsided smile.

Alfred chuckled a bit as he set the tray down next to her.

"Of course. But when you're finished I expect to find that tray back upstairs in it's proper place."

"Gotcha," she nodded as she picked up another scone.

"And try not to lose it down here."

"I'll guard it with my life."

Alfred nodded before he turned and walked off to leave Barbara alone with her thoughts and delicious pastry snacks.

Elsewhere in the cave, Batman sat in front of one of the smaller computer stations idling going through his files on Poison Ivy. He told himself he was only doing it in hopes of finding something that would help him get a bead on her current whereabouts but in the back of his mind he knew the truth. Really he was going through all these files to find something that would explain why Barbara would defend her so passionately. To discover what glimmer of hope she was holding to that convinced her Ivy _could_ be reformed.

It wasn't going well.

Even before the accident that turned her into Poison Ivy, Pamela Isley wasn't exactly a model student. There was multiple detention referrals, a spotty attendance record, and threats of violence against other students. Then of course there was her juvenile hall record. Counts of vandalizing/destruction of property, inciting riots, and various breaking and entering accounts. All of which was _before_ she decided to higher Temblor to take her "protests" to the next level.

Try as he might he couldn't quite fit the puzzle pieces together. There just didn't seem to be a reason why Barbara would be Pamela's friend let alone develop romantic feelings for her. Especially now given the drastically different sides of the law they were on.

"So what am I missing?" he muttered to himself as he stroked his chin in thought.

"I believe you're giving it too much thought," Alfred's voice suggested to him.

Batman tilted his head to the left to see his faithful butler standing next to him holding a small saucer and cup.

"Herbal tea," he answered before Batman could even ask and set the saucer on the arm of the chair. "I thought it would help you relax. And was quite fitting given your current subject."

The Caped Crusader glanced up at the mug shot of Ivy on the screen for a second before he picked up the cup and took a sip. When he put it back down he looked over at Alfred again.

"What were you saying?" he asked.

"I said I believe you're giving this too much thought," Alfred repeated himself.

"And why do you say that?"

"Because you're trying to find a scientific explanation for emotions. In my experience that never works and usually results in giving one a headache."

"You certainly have a point there," Batman muttered as he rubbed his cowled forehead. "I'm just trying to understand who Barbara could be attracted to a criminal."

"Or perhaps you're just frustrated that her situation has a tinge of familiarity to it," Alfred remarked pointedly.

Batman narrowed his eyes and scowled at him.

"Meaning?" he pressed.

"Meaning perhaps there's a reason why Catwoman has been so successful at alluding The Batman's grasp," the Englishman remarked flippantly.

"Why does everyone keep bringing her up?"

"Because the rest of us aren't blind, sir. Try as you might to suppress it, we've all seen a certain...glint in your eyes when you interact with her."

"You've never even seen me with Catwoman," he shot back.

"No, but remember I _do_ monitor communications from here and I've seen the way you look at her pictures while reviewing her cases. And a few that _don't_ involve her."

Silence fell over the tiny corner of the cave as Batman turned back to the computer and started to flip through the files again. He took a few idle sips from the tea as Alfred continued to stand quietly next to him in perfect form. After a few tense filled seconds, Batman finally acknowledged him with a slight tilt of the head.

"Is there something else you wanted?" he asked curtly.

"Well, to be perfectly honest, sir, I was hoping you would have another talk with young Ms. Gordon," Alfred explained with a hint of insistence.

Batman furrowed his brows and stared at the screen. "I don't see the need to. She seems to have made up her mind."

"That's not the point. You _both_ said things rather hurtful to each other and I believe it's best to resolve that issue now before it becomes a bigger problem."

"It's not going to become a problem. I can deal with it."

"Really? And does dealing with it involve even more brooding than usual?" Alfred remarked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm not brooding, I'm studying," he insisted.

"And if I had a nickel for every time I heard _that_ over the years I'd have enough wealth to rival yours, Master Bruce."

"Is that supposed to be a joke?"

"Supposed to be, yes. I'm afraid I've never been quite good at telling them," he confessed. "But what I _have_ been good at is telling when things have hurt your more than you want to let on. Like Barbara's earlier outburst. I know from _personal_ experience how much that particular phrase can hurt."

That statement finally provoked a response from the usual stalwart superhero and that being one of utter shock. He turned his full attention over to his faithful butler and confidant and times when he desperately needed one the most, father figure.

"I...never..." he started to say.

"Yes. You did," Alfred revealed with a hint of sadness. "You were younger than Master Dick and even then you were planning for...all this," he gestured around the Bat Cave. "I tried to talk you out of the idea and during a heated argument you told me the same thing Barbara told you. It hurt me just as much as I know it hurt you."

Batman sank back into his chair, his head dipped in shame and remorse.

"Alfred...I'm sorry," he said softly.

"I know you are, Sir. You even said so back then. I know you didn't mean it but still, hearing you apologize meant the world to me. So perhaps if you talk to Ms. Gordon you might hear the same thing. Then perhaps you'll want to help this confused and scared young woman with her problem in a much more...civilized way."

With that, Alfred picked up the cup and saucer then turned and walked away to leave his one time ward alone with his thoughts. Batman leaned back into the chair again and looked back up at the screen to see the scowling face of Poison Ivy looking back at him. He stared at it for a moment before he brought up a picture of Catwoman in a split screen. Looking back and fourth between them it finally dawned on him that Barbara took after him in more ways than just wearing a bat on her chest.

Barbara frowned when she felt her gloved hand scratch against polished silver instead of wrapping around another delicious scone. She turned her head to find only a few crumbs on the tray next to her and let out a disappointed sigh.

"Well I guess that's the end of snacking for now," she muttered. "Guess I could go back to figuring out my problem but I've thought about that enough to give me ten headaches. So instead..."

She reached into one of the compartments on her belt and pulled out her iPod. She knew it was probably something she shouldn't carry with her in costume but there were times when she couldn't help but listen to some music. Especially on long, boring stake outs or just to annoy Robin by blocking out his chatter while riding in the Batmobile. The look on his face was always priceless. Right now she wanted to use it to just jam away and try to clear her head a bit. After she stuck the ear buds into her ears she hit play and closed her eyes in preparation to hear some soothing tunes.

Unfortunately her eyes popped back open in surprise when she heard the first lyric of the song:

_Some days I feel like crying_

"Touche magical iPod," she mumbled as she glared down at the red device.

_Don't matter if its rain or shine  
I feel like my heart was broken  
At least a million times_

"No kidding," she said with an amused smirk.

_Some days I wake up dreaming  
Feels like I never even woke  
Answer life's big question  
As if it's one big joke_

Despite her initial shock at the song, Barbara quickly got into the cheery beat of the song and closed her eyes again as she bobbed her head in time with the music.

_Maybe it's too soon to be sure but I  
Really do believe that some day we're gonna have it all  
So I cry so hard it keeps the rhythm of a train  
Rolling right along when the ride gets rough you got to carry on_

Her enjoyment of the song didn't last too long, however, when she felt a familiar chill in the air. She pressed the pause button on the dial then slowly plucked out the ear buds before she sighed deeply. Despite the slight tremor running through her body she found the courage to open her eyes and stand up to face the man she knew was behind her. To her surprise though, he had pulled back his cowl to show the slightly more friendly face of Bruce Wayne. Even more surprising was the fact that he didn't look extremely mad at her. His expression was much more neutral and she could swear she could see a bit of remorse in his eyes but that could have been the dark lighting playing a trick on her. Of course she was sure her _own_ remorseful expression was shining bright and clear.

"Look...about what I said earlier," she started meekly. "I'm sorry. I'm really, really, _really_ sorry. I didn't mean it I swear!"

Bruce held up a hand to signal her to be quiet. An action she took quit quickly and even stepped back a bit.

"I know," he said calmly. "And I'm sorry I upset you enough to say something like that. But you have to understand this is a very...unique situation for me."

"For _you_?" she shouted almost indignantly. "Imagine what _I'm_ going through!"

"I'm _trying_," he stressed. "Which is why I'm willing to overlook your earlier outbursts and work with you to figure all this out."

Barbara blinked at the unexpected response.

"Really? Well that's...cool," she mumbled. "But I'm still trying to figure out exactly what I'm _supposed_ to do."

"The logical step would be to try to confront Ivy again," Bruce advised.

"I know but I'm just not sure where to _find_ her!"

"Maybe she'll find you."

She gave him a curious look.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well she obviously knows where you dorm room is since she paid you a visit there before so if we're lucky she'll try to contact you there again soon."

"'Lucky'?" Barbara repeated with a smirk. "Not really your usual style."

"I'm finding I'm doing a lot of things I wouldn't normally do lately," he remarked. "But there is one thing in this operation I have no problem doing."

"Oh? And what's that?"

"Trusting you."

Again Barbara was shocked by his straight forward answer but this time it was a much more pleasant surprise. Of course it was still overwhelming to get such simple, and yet such important, praise from him and there was really only one way she could think to properly respond. She quickly sprang forward to wrap her arms around his shoulders and gave him a tight hug. Bruce was a little taken aback by the gesture at first but once he recovered he wrapped his arms around her to return the hug.

"Thank you," she whispered into his ear.

"Just don't make me regret it," he joked.

"I'll do my best," she smiled as she pulled back from him. "So does this mean you'll help Ivy?"

"I'll do what I can but I make no promises," he told her flatly.

"I know, I know. Just...let me handle most of this, okay? If she sees you and Robin out there then she'll probably panic and the whole thing will be a bust."

"Like I said I trust you to see this through to the end. But if you need any help I'll be there for you."

"I know. And I appreciate it," she nodded. "Now if you'll excuse me I kinda want to get back to my song while I _try_ to figure out what to do next."

Bruce nodded then leaned down to pick up the tray. "Alright. I'll take this back up to Alfred while I'm at it."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Once Bruce left, Barbara sat back down on the ledge of the cliff with a wide smile on her face.

_Now _there's_ a twist I never would have seen coming,_ she mused. _But oddly enough it gives me hope that maybe this whole thing will turn out for the best. Which is really all I can do at this point. That and carry on._

She put the ear buds back in and pulled up her right knee to her chest so she could rest her arm on it while she let her left leg hang off the edge and swing a bit. She quickly pressed play before she rested her left hand on the rocky ground as she closed her eyes once again to thoroughly enjoy the song.

_Some days I feel like singing  
I sit back and just groove the day away  
Maybe I pick up a guitar and play what I want to play_

_Maybe it's too soon to be sure but I  
Really do believe that some day we're gonna have it all  
So I cry so hard it keeps the rhythm of a train  
Rolling right along when the ride gets rough you got to carry on_

_Carry on,  
You got to carry on  
You got to carry on  
You got to carry on_

_Today I feel like laughing  
Seems to be no reason at all  
And if the world stops spinning  
I'm not afraid to fall_

_Maybe it's too soon to be sure but I  
Really do believe that some day we're gonna have it all  
So I cry so hard it keeps the rhythm of a train  
Rolling right along when the ride gets rough you got to carry on_

**To Be Concluded...**

**Author's Notes: **Another two months and another chapter written. I sincerely apologize for how long it's been taking me to write this thing but apparently my muse just decided to be a right bitch during this whole chapter. I _really_ didn't think it'd take me this long since I've had a lot of these scenes in mind from the beginning and it's mostly dialogue which usually is very easy for me to write. But again I just had far too much trouble concentrating on it. It was frustrating to say the least.

But the chapter's finally done and I really hope you all enjoyed it. I will admit right now I wanted to do more with Ivy, at least one more scene, but by the time I finished writing that second scene with her I realized I did all I wanted to do with her in this chapter. Plus it was hard to keep her scenes from becoming repetitive and boring since she only has plants to talk to and they don't make the best conversationalists. Rest assured you'll be seeing much more of her in the next chapter.

Speaking of which, as you can see above there the next one will be the _last_ chapter of this fic. It's not going to be very long so I'm really, _really_ hoping I'll get it done by next weekend. Especially since the rest of this month's going to be completely and utterly suck for me because of work and it'll drain _any_ creativity I have. It _should_ be easy because it's just three scenes and things I've had in mind since the beginning and are pretty dialogue heavy. Course that's what I said about this chapter too and we all know how _that_ turned out! Oy.

Anyway before I go I have to say that the song Barbara's listening to is called "Have It All" from the "Scrubs" soundtrack and is preformed by Jeremy Kay. There that should cover my ass legally. The only other thing I want to say is that the last "shot" of Babs was inspired by the pic my friend Festum, or Trackula as he's known here on FF.N, did for me about a year ago for my Batgirl Jam. You can find it here by removing the spaces:

http:/ /thebatgirl-ivy. /gallery / ?set=25231837&offset=24#/d24oshx

Just close in the spaces. You can also find a colored version done by TM2DB here:

http:/ thebatgirl-ivy. /gallery/ ?25231837#/d24p7wv

So that's all. See you next time which hopefully won't be as long as this time.


	5. The Compromise

**Disclaimer: **_The Characters from "The Batman" are owned by DC Comics, Warner Bros., Bob Kane and God knows how many other people by now. This is a story done purely for fun and not to make profit whatsoever. Any original characters that may appear belong to the writer and can be used with permission. _

**Knightshade**

**Chapter 5: The Compromise**

After reconciling with Bruce, Barbara spent the next few days in a haze. Actually, that wasn't exactly true. She had _been_ in a haze since the first night Ivy visited her. It would just clear up enough for her to actually see in front of her every once and awhile. But after that last encounter the haze had thickened again and she really didn't know where she was going. She had an _idea_ of what she wanted to do just no definitive plan yet. Of course to really do anything the first thing she'd have to do was to find Ivy again which made her feel like she was running around in circles and really wasn't doing much to help clear the haze.

Neither were classes for that matter. She had to at least keep up the _appearance _of being a dedicated college student and keeping up with papers and tests and reading certainly wasn't helping to clear her thoughts. At least she was able to fake her way through it enough to keep her grades up. The _last_ thing she needed to deal with right now is her dad giving her grief over failing some of her classes. Not that she ever _would_ fail just out of a sense of pride but it certainly wouldn't help matters.

She let out a heavy sigh as she reached her dorm room door. She fished her keys out of her jeans' pocket to unlock and open the door. When she stepped inside she spotted Kara working on her laptop on the computer desk near the door.

"Hey," Barbara greeted half heartedly.

"Hey," Kara repeated while keeping her eyes glued to the screen. She then looked away for a second as she added, "Oh there was a letter in our mailbox that I _think_ is for you. It just said 'To Red' on it. I laid it on your bed."

Barbara followed the path of where Kara's finger was pointing to the dark green envelope sitting on her bed.

"Oh, um, thanks," she muttered as she walked over to the bed.

She slipped her backpack off and let it thump to the floor as she picked up the envelope which simply had "To Red" inscribed on the front of it in bright red ink, just as Kara had told her. As if to remove any lingering doubt who it was from she flipped it over to find the "Baudelaires" name stamped on the back. She cast a quick glance over her shoulder to Kara who seemed to her attention back to whatever she was working on. Barbara slipped her thumb under the single piece of tape holding the envelope shot and snapped it with a quick flick. She carefully reached inside and pulled out a small, folded piece of paper. When she flipped it open to reveal a quick, handwritten note.

_Red,_

_Meet me in the greenhouse tonight at 10. We need to talk. You can come dressed for the occasion if you want but I promise I just want to talk. Just show up. Please._

_-Red._

Barbara stared at the note in quiet contemplation. Obviously she wanted to believe it, but her hero instincts kicked in again and she had to at least _consider_ that it was a trap. But something about this note just felt so...genuine. Especially that "Please" at the end. In all the time she had known Pam she never really knew her to say "Please" that much. Almost never, actually. So seeing it there in print in front of her just seemed to add this hint of desperation to the note that made her heart ache a little. Maybe it _was_ a trap she had to take the chance it wasn't if for no other reason then to bring an end to this thing one way or another. She just really hoped it was in a way that would be good for them both.

"So who's the letter from?" Kara asked behind her.

She jumped at the voice, having completely forgot that the blonde was even in the room. She quickly stuffed the letter back inside the envelope then turned around to face her friend with a forced smile on her face.

"Oh nothing really," she lied. "Just someone wanting me to meet them somewhere. Think they're crushing on me or something like that."

"Weird," the other girl remarked. "What are you gonna do about it?"

"Guess I'll go meet 'em and let them down gently."

Kara quirked an eyebrow at her. "That's...kinda dangerous don't you think?"

"Hey I'm a big girl I can take care of myself."

"Being commish's daughter I'm sure you can, but still, don't you think you need some help? I could go along with you if you want."

"No!" Barbara said a bit too quickly with a wave of her hands. "I mean, I'll be fine. I've got some mace and a few police submission moves I picked up over the years so I'll be ready for anything that might go wrong."

The blonde looked unconvinced but nodded anyway.

"Well...alright," she said uncertainly. "But if you ever _do_ need help with something like this just let me know, okay? I may not look it but I've get some good upper body strength."

She punctuated her last statement by flexing her right arm and smiling. Barbara couldn't help but chuckle at the display.

"Yeah, I guess all that Kansas farm living's good for something, right?" she joked.

"You know it," Kara winked before her eyes seemed to glaze over a bit.

Now it was Barbara's turn to raise an eyebrow. Every so often the girl would do this and she could never understand what it meant. It looked like she was listening to something out in the hallway or somewhere but for the life of her Barbara would never pick up on it. She was always quick to snap out of it though and this time was no exception. In fact, most people probably wouldn't even notice it if they didn't know what to look for. Thankfully her detective skills sharpened enough for her to catch these moments but she was still far from figuring it out.

"Are _you_ okay?" she asked her roommate.

"Oh yeah I'm fine," Kara waved off. "I just remembered I need to go to the library to finish something up on my paper. So I'm gonna go there and I'll see you later. Good luck with your...whatever it is."

"Yeah. Um, thanks."

The blonde nodded then quickly snatched up her laptop and backpack and practically darted out of the room. Whatever was going on with her it always seemed to involve the library. Maybe there was some kind of secret facility or something underneath it that Kara was a part of.

Or she _could _just like spending time in there. Barbara had to confess she had an affinity for libraries herself and had always thought about becoming a librarian should the whole detective thing not pan out.

She suddenly roughly shook her head with an irritated growl.

_Come on Barb focus! _She screamed at herself then looked down at the card in her hands. _You gotta get ready because it looks like you're about to have a long night ahead of you._

That night, Barbara drove out to the greenhouse on her Batcycle and in full costume. She didn't really _want_ to show up as Batgirl for fear of scaring Ivy off but also didn't want her cover to be blown anymore than it already was and her Batcycle was really the only way for her to get out there. She stopped the bike just in front of the old, broken greenhouse and quickly killed the engine. She pulled her helmet off and stared at the mostly forgotten building for a few seconds. The fight she had just had a few nights ago replayed in her mind as did its unfortunate ending. As painful as it was to remember, it just made her more determined to make the outcome of whatever was about to happen better than the that time.

With her mind set, she got off the bike and placed the helmet on the back off the seat before she made her way over to the door of the greenhouse. She cringed a little bit at the loud, irritating squeal it made as she forced it open. Shards of broken glass still laced the dirt beneath her from the years of decay and their fight and as she heard it crunch under her boots, Batgirl idly wondered how Ivy could walk around in here barefoot without getting tons of tiny little cuts all over them. Though she probably had her plants help out with that somehow.

_Speaking of which..._ she mused as she spared some cautious glances at the plants growing over everything.

She walked to the middle of the greenhouse where the most moonlight spilled in to make a fairly illuminated spot. That way she could show Ivy she was here alone and ready to listen while at the same time allow her to see where an ambush might come from. Though given the fact that Ivy could have some roots just spring up and grab if she wanted it didn't make that much of a difference, but it wouldn't hurt to take the chance.

_Alright. Here goes nothing,_ she thought nervously before she took a deep breath and said aloud, "Alright Red, I'm here."

"Hiya Red," Ivy's voice called back from the darkness.

Batgirl turned her head just in time to see Ivy walk out from behind a large shrub. She held her hands up as she slowly walked into the lit spot as well and was only about two feet away from the heroine. The two stared at each other uncomfortably for quite a bit. Although they had both practiced what they _wanted_ to say in this situation, actually being face-to-face again seemed to make their minds go blank.

"So..." Batgirl said expectedly.

"So..." Ivy repeated unsurely.

Silence overcame them again but it was for a much shorter time now as Batgirl quickly let out a bemused chuckle.

"You know, I remember there was a time when neither of us would have trouble coming up with something to say," she remarked.

Ivy chuckled back. "Yeah well a _lot_ has changed since those days."

"No kidding," Batgirl nodded before her smile faded. "So you're _really_ not gonna fight me, right?"

"Believe or not I actually _can_ be sincere when I want to be," the green girl insisted.

The redhead threw her hands up defensively. "Hey I didn't mean to insult you. I just gotta be careful, you know. Besides it's not like you can blame me after what happened last time."

"Well last time I didn't know..._you_ were Batgirl!"

"Would it have made a difference?"

"Of course it would!" Ivy shouted, throwing her hands out wide.

She paused when she saw Batgirl tense up as if she were getting ready for a fight. Ivy brought her hands down and let out a soft sigh as she forced herself to calm down.

"Sorry I didn't mean to surprise you," she said sheepishly.

"I know," Batgirl nodded as she relaxed as well. "I didn't mean to get defensive either, it's just...well...occupational hazzard, you know?"

Surprisingly Ivy nodded back. "I _do_ know. Now like I was saying, _yes_ it would have made a difference if I knew you were Batgirl because I wouldn't have attacked you." She paused as she thought the statement over. "Okay that's not true I probably _would_ have attacked you but that's just because I would have been _pissed_. Hell, I _was_ pissed when I first thought about it."

"Well at least you can still be honest with me when you want to be," the younger redhead scoffed.

"Oh like _you're_ one to talk about being honest!" Ivy shouted with an accusing finger that seemed to cause the plants around her to shake. "Least _I'm_ not the one wearing the mask here."

"Okay, fine you have a point," Batgirl nodded then reached up and pulled back her cowl. "Is that better?"

A relaxed smile spread over the older girl's face at the sight of her friend's real face.

"Yeah that's a lot better," she mused as she took a step closer to Barbara.

For her part, Barbara stayed her ground and even found herself inching closer to Ivy.

"So...what exactly are we gonna do about..._this_?" Barbara asked, motioning between them.

"Funny you should ask. I've been giving it a _lot_ of thought..." Ivy started.

Her hands suddenly sprung forward so she could hook her thumbs around the thread of Barbara's belt then pulled her towards her. The surprised redhead let out a surprised shriek and prepared herself for a struggle but quickly relaxed when she felt Ivy's hands gently rest on her slender hips. Well maybe relaxed wasn't the best word to use as she was still slightly tensed under the other girl's touch but it was different. It was a nice tenseness. One that sent goosebumps up and down her body. She could feel her heart rate increase as she looked up into Ivy's eyes and saw a newfound warmth in them. Though she was technically in a dangerous situation she didn't _feel_ like she was in any danger. It actually felt kind of...nice.

"...and my earlier offer still stands," the older redhead told her. "Come with me Red. Together we can take down _all_ those corporations that carelessly hurt Mother Nature. With your skills and my powers there's _no one_ that could stop us!"

"That's not true and you _know_ it," Barbara shot back, a little irritated. "There are _plenty_ of people out there that could stop us. Besides I would have thought you'd figure it out by now that I'm not the criminal type."

"Yeah, yeah I know," Ivy sighed with a weak smile. "But you can't blame a girl for trying, can you?"

"Oh I totally can," the smaller redhead retorted and before she realized what she was doing she brought her arms up and wrapped them around the other girl's shoulders.

Now it was Ivy's turn to feel the goosebumps throughout her body. After imagining a scenario like this for so long actually having Barbara here in front of her like this with her arms wrapped around her and staring into her big, brown eyes so filled with hope and joy...it was almost intoxicating. Even if she was wearing that annoying Bat symbol on her chest. Still she could over look that because it felt so good to finally be able to touch her and be touched in return. It was a feeling she hoped would never end but knew that it would. And it'd be far too soon.

"Okay fine, no avenging Mother Nature," she said with a sigh but she quickly smiled again. "Then how about this? We just leave. No fighting. No Gotham. No police. No Batman. We just pick up and leave for some topical island somewhere in the middle of the ocean. It doesn't even _have_ to be tropical it could just be an island and I could take are of the rest."

She punctuated her sentence by waving her left hand towards a barren bit of dirt in the greenhouse which then immediately grew a large patch of green, healthy looking grass and flowers. With her task done she returned her hand to Barbara's hip and look at her expectantly. For her part the other Red smiled back but it was the kind of gentle smile of someone about to soften bad news.

"It sounds good Red, it _really_ does," Barbara started as she tightened her arms around Ivy's shoulders, "but you know I can't do that. I have friends and family here. Not too mention certain responsibilities."

Her last statement was followed by a quick glance down at the yellow symbol on her chest. Ivy scowled deeply at it before her eyes darted back up to meet Barbara's.

"That's _always_ going to come between us, isn't it?" she asked in an irritated tone.

"It doesn't _have_ to," Barbara insisted. "Look you told me your plan now let me tell you mine."

Ivy seemed less than enthused. "I'm listening."

"Go back to Arkham and go through the treatments they want you to through. Once your prove you're not a danger to anyone anymore they'll let you go. Then you can have your life back and we can be together," she explained.

"Well I certainly like that last part, but what am I supposed to do once I'm out? Go to college so I can get a normal job and be like every other drone out there?" she asked indignantly then shook her head. "Sorry Red that's just not for me. I _can't_ just ignore the suffering of plants all around me."

"Okay, then how about putting that passion to some _good_ use for a change?" Barbara suggested.

Ivy gave her a look of disbelief. "You're not suggesting what I think you're suggesting, are you?"

"Depends, what do you think I'm suggesting?"

"That I become one of those goodie goodie heroes running around out there in tights."

Barbara smirked. "It's funny how much we think alike since that's _exactly_ what I was thinking." She paused for a second. "Although I wouldn't exactly put it that way."

"Well, no matter how you put it I'm _not_ doing it," Ivy insisted with a turn of her head.

The smaller girl rolled her eyes and moved her left hand from the green girl's shoulder to her cheek so she could turn her head back to face her. Despite the situation, Barbara couldn't help but snicker at the almost pouty expression Ivy had on her face.

"Is it really _that_ much of a stretch?" she questioned. "I mean you were already trying to save the planet, right?"

"For _plants_," Ivy clarified.

"Which in itself _is_ a good cause and you can continue to do that. Just leave out the whole 'trying to get rid of human beings' part."

"So you're saying I should just _let_ those corporate pigs get away with poisoning the Earth?" she growled, her eyes flashing bright green for a second and the shrubbery around them quaking again.

"No, no I'm not saying that at all," Barbara said quickly in an attempt to calm her down. "I'm saying we can still take them down we just need to do it within the confines of the law a bit more."

Ivy scoffed. "Funny talk coming from a vigilante."

"That's police sanctioned vigilante to you," she shot back with a smirk as she gently tapped the other girl's nose.

"You know what I mean," she muttered, trying to still seem angry despite the blush coming to her cheeks.

Barbara chuckled again as she slipped her arm back around Ivy's shoulders to link her hands up together behind her back. They stood there silently for several seconds and just enjoyed the feeling of holding each other.

"So...what do you think?" Barbara asked nervously.

Ivy took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly in a long, almost defeated sigh.

"You're asking me to give up a lot, you know?" she remarked.

"Well _you_ were asking _me_ to give up a lot too," the smaller redhead retorted.

"Yeah I guess I did," the green girl mused as she drew Barbara even closer. "I guess we're just two selfish people."

"I guess so," the other girl nodded as her cheeks grew red from blushing at exactly how close they were getting.

"Will the other heroes out there actually trust me?"

"Hey, they trust me, I'll put a good word in for you."

"How about _him_?"

That made Barbara pause. Truth be told she _still_ wasn't sure how Batman felt about this whole thing. He did say he trusted her judgement on the matter but actually having Ivy fight crime with them might be a little too much. Maybe she wouldn't exactly be a member of "the team," but even the idea of her working in an unofficial capacity might cause some...tension. No matter how she looked at it, it wasn't an ideal situation but it was better than how things were now.

"_I'll_ handle him, you just do your part and go through rehabilitation. That will show you're _willing_ to change, and trust me that's a big step forward," she explained.

Ivy glared at her for several seconds, her mind reeling with the decision ahead of her. Basically she had to decide which she loved more; Barbara or plants. After all the time she spent figuring out her feelings for the girl she would have thought this decision would be easy but if she agreed to the terms she wouldn't help but feel she was betraying her beliefs. But would it really be a betrayal if she just tuned down her actions? She would still be helping the plants she just wouldn't be trying to replace humanity with them. As she weighed the options in her head she supposed it was a good compromise. Especially considering what she was getting out of the deal.

She smiled down at Barbara and drew her ever closer so that their were mere inches apart.

"Alright Red, you've convinced me. I'll do my best to be a good girl from now on. But there's only _one_ way to seal this deal," she whispered huskily.

"I think I know exactly the way you're talking about Red," Barbara whispered back as wrapped her arms even tighter around the taller girl's shoulders.

As the gap became smaller and smaller they each closed their eyes just before their lips finally met in a kiss that they were _both_ prepared for. For once. They stayed lipped locked for several seconds and just enjoyed the feeling and taste of each other. Though their need for air was fastly approaching, neither of them wanted to break the kiss for fear that this perfect moment might some melt away if they did. Eventually though they gave away to their lungs demands and broke apart for air. They stayed close to each other, however, and just stared into each others eyes as they were bathed in moonlight. While they would have liked for this moment to last forever they both knew it had to end sooner rather than later.

"Well...guess it's time to take me in, huh Red?" Ivy remarked with a sad smile.

"Yeah, I guess so," Barbara sighed as she slowly slid her arms off Ivy's shoulders.

She reached into her belt and pulled out her Bat-Wave communicator and was about to put in a call to the police station when Ivy's hands suddenly shot up to just behind her head.

"What are you-?" Barbara asked in confusion.

"Hey, if you're punching back in you have to wear the uniform, right?" the green girl smirked before she pulled the cowl back over her friend's head.

Batgirl shook her head slightly in amusement as Ivy pulled her hair out through the hole in the back of the cowl. She reached up to adjust it better and continued to smile in amusement.

"There, just like a superhero should look," Ivy teased.

"Thanks, _mom_," Batgirl teased back the switched on her communicator. "Hey Commissioner, this is Batgirl. I've found Poison Ivy in an old greenhouse outside of Gotham U. I have her detained so if you guys could send a wagon to pick her up I'd certainly appreciate it."

"Uh, right Batgirl. I'll send one out right away," Commissioner Gordon's slightly surprised voice answered back.

She nodded and put the device away then looked at Ivy again who had a devious smile on her face.

"Do does _daddy_ know about this little secret of yours?" she remarked.

Batgirl's eyes narrowed a bit as she frowned.

"What do you think?" she asked in a low voice.

"_I_ think he'd be very interested in knowing what his precious little girl does with her nights."

"Ivy. Don't," she warned with a hard glare.

The plant girl suddenly threw her head back as she burst into an uproarious laughter. She took a few steps back as she continued to laugh for several seconds while Batgirl just placed her hands on her hips and glared at her some more.

"Oh come on, lighten up!" Ivy insisted as she lightly punched the hero in the right shoulder. "I remember a time when you _used_ to be able to take a joke."

"I can take a joke!" Batgirl shot back defensively. "Just not about _that_."

"Fine, fine," she relented, holding her hands up in defeat. "I won't tell Daddy Commish about your little...nocturnal activities."

The smaller girl let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

"Now, I guess it's time for me to assume the position, huh?" Ivy asked as she turned around and placed her hands behind her back.

Batgirl took out a pair of Bat-cuffs from her utility belt and quickly, but carefully, slapped them over her friend's light green wrists. Ivy jumped a bit from the sensation but then looked over her shoulder at the shorter girl with a mischievous grin.

"Didn't know you were so good at using these things Red. That might come in handy later," she teased.

A blush came to Batgirl's cheeks as she titled her head away to try to hide it.

"Hey...come on," she muttered sheepishly.

"Just trying to keep the situation light."

"Well, let's just go wait for the cops outside."

"You're the boss, Red."

They made their way back out the front of the greenhouse and waited for the police to show up. It was a much shorter wait than they had thought as within a few short minutes a police van pulled up next to them. The officers stepped out and carefully took Ivy from Batgirl's care. They were surprised at how docile she was as they led her into the back of the van but they knew better than to press their luck. As one of them got in the back to watch over the criminal the other turned back to Batgirl.

"Good work catching Ivy, Batgirl," the African-American woman remarked with a stip of her hat.

"Yeah, it was nothing," the redhead tried to wave off.

The officer looked behind her to the broken greenhouse. "Nothing, huh?"

Batgirl looked where she was looking then shrugged. "All in a night's work."

"Right. Well, take care. We'll make sure Ivy gets back to Arkham safe and sound."

"Thank you."

"Um...you're welcome," the officer said unsurely before she stepped into the cab of the wagon.

Sirens filled the night air as the wagon drove towards the asylum. Much to the irritation of the driver and passengers, however, it also filled the inside of the wagon. The officer riding in the back with Ivy tapped on the small, caged window separating body from cab.

"Hey Jamieson, why don't you kill the noise and put the radio on?" he requested.

"You got it. Just don't blame me if we get stuck in traffic with a dangerous criminal," Jamieson replied as she turned off the sirens and switched on the radio.

Ivy shook her head at the two and was about to tune out everything else when the song on the radio caught her ear.

_I'm all out of love, I'm so lost without you  
I know you were right, believing for so long  
I'm all out of love, what am I without you?  
I can't be too late to say that I was so wrong_

She let out a loud, annoyed groan and banged her head against the side of the wagon's metal wall.

"Can you _please_ change it to something else?" she pleaded with the officer sitting across from her.

"Nope," he said gruffly.

She groaned again as she leaned forward in defeat.

_Oh Red is _so_ gonna pay me back for _this,she thought determinately.

Back at the greenhouse, Batgirl watched as the wagon disappeared beyond her view into the busy streets of Gotham. Although she knew where it was headed there was still a feeling of helplessness and the unknown as she stood there. She let out a deep sigh as she walked over to her cycle and picked up her helmet. She stopped before she put it on when a bit of motion from the bushes caught her attention.

"You can come out now, I know you're there," she called out.

Just as she expected, Batman came stalking out of the shadows and walked over to her. She gave him an indignant look when he stopped in front of her.

"So what happened to trusting me to handle this?" she asked pointedly.

"I said I trust _you_, not _her_," he shot back.

"You think she would have attacked me?"

"I'm not sure what she would have done, which is why I wanted to be here to back you up incase something went wrong."

Being that that was the closest he'd likely ever come to fully admitting he was worried about her, Batgirl relaxed a bit and gave him a soft smile. It disappeared rather quickly when she realized how long he might have been there.

"So...what exactly did you hear?" she asked sheepishly.

"Nothing. And before you ask, no I didn't read your lips either. I wanted to give you your privacy," he revealed.

"Well, I do appreciate that," she said honestly then looked back to where the wagon had driven off. "So do you think she'll actually turn around?"

"I've seen stranger things happen," Batman answered cryptically. "But I think having someone there to support her will go a long way to help."

"Well, I'll certainly be doing that," she remarked in a determined tone.

"I know," he said as he laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "And despite any misgivings I might have about this whole thing, I'll be there to support _you._"

A relived smile spread across her face and she looked up at his slightly less grim expression.

"Then, I guess you won't mind if I make reformed Ivy part of the team then, huh?" she quipped.

Batman just stared down at her. "Don't push your luck."

It is amazing how quickly someone can slip back into a routine. Within only a few days of returning to Arkham, Ivy found herself back into the same old rut she had been in before her escape. Same old stale food, same old dingy surroundings, same old therapy sessions, same old plastic door cell, and most irritating of all, some old itchy, disgustingly orange inmate uniform. _That_ was what she hated the most out of everything because she could tune out the rest of craziness around her but the itching was constant. She was convinced the uniforms are what caused most of the inmates to regularly escape, not some need to get back at Batman or the citizens of Gotham. It was certainly always a bit factor in _her_ escapes.

The worst part is they wouldn't let her change out of it. She wasn't allowed to make her usually leafy dress for fear of her using it to escape or injury the guards somehow. Which, to be fair, she would probably would. At least before she would have. Now she was _trying_ to play nice, but they weren't making it easy.

Baring the dress, _she_ had no problem going all natural but again the higher ups in the asylum refused on the grounds that it might...entice some of the other inmates and the less than reputable guards. Of course, _that_ problem could be solved if they just gave her a normal cell. But apparently since she was a meta-human criminal they had to make one whole wall of her sell a giant peep show that made doing the most mundane things kind of embarrassing and that wasn't even getting into going to the bathroom.

Still she was desperately trying to change her ways, pay her debt to society and get a clean bill of mental health so she could be with Red again. So for now she spent most of her days laying in bed and staring up at the ceiling as she thought about all the things they could do together once she was released. The park was a must. Whether it be just a walk through it or a midday summer picnic they were _definitely_ going there. After being cooped up in these dingy walls for...who knows how long, she would need to feel the grass under her feet again and drink in the beauty of nature. The only thing better than being out there would be to be out there with Barbara. That was certainly a happy thought.

One that was quickly interrupted by a guard banging on the door to her cell. She let out an irritated groan and she sat up to glare at him.

"What?" she snapped.

"Package for you," he replied, holding up a small manila envelope. "You know the drill."

"Yeah, yeah," she muttered.

She got up off the bed and stood in the center of the cell and raised her hands as guard slipped a gasmask over his face before he stepped inside. He held his tazer stick trained on her as he made his way over to the bed and dropped the envelope on it. They both continued to glare at each other as he backed out of the cell and quickly slammed the door shut. Ivy waited until he was gone before she plopped back down onto the bed and picked up the envelope. Although it was addressed to "Poison Ivy," it was written in a familiar red ink. She ripped open the top of the envelope and reached inside to find a smaller, green envelope marked "To Red". She stared at it for a second then chuckled as she turned it over to find the "Baudelaires" stamp on it. She tore that one open as well and wasn't surprised to find a small, folded note inside. She flipped it open and smiled as she started to read it:

_Dear Red,_

_Hope everything's going as well for you as they can. Sorry I haven't made it out there yet to visit you but you know how hard it can be with being the Commish's daughter and all. My dad's got eyes everywhere. But I promise I'll come see you as soon as I can and until then I hope this small present can tide you over. Obviously they're not gonna let me give you a real flower but you get the idea. _

_Thinking of you,_

_-Red_

Ivy raised an eyebrow at the end of the note then picked up the manila envelop again and shook out the other object inside. Sure enough it was as a small, velvet rosebud with a green plastic steam. She smile softly as the gift as she caressed the fake petal. Even if they were fake they still felt real and for the time being that would have to be enough.

"Thank you Red," she whispered softly as she slipped the rose behind her left ear.

She laid back down again and folded her arms behind her head to stare up at the ceiling once more.

"This is gonna be hard, but I'll see this through to the end. For her," she vowed as she gently stroked the rose behind her ear.

**The End.**

**Author's Notes: **Hey look up there! Those words say "The End". That means this fic is _finally_ totally finished! Whoooooo! So you're probably wondering what I'm gonna do next, huh? Well I'm gonna...take a break.

Yeah I know you guys probably don't want to hear that but I'm going to take sometime off and enjoy the rest of my summer. There is a HUUUUUGE stack of DVDs and comics I need to get to before I even _think_ about doing anything else. Of course that's not to say I probably won't write _anything_ during the rest of the summer as I get a ton of ideas that need to get out before my head explodes but I won't be writing another multiple chapter story until September. Even when I do get back to writing longer stories it'll be over in the Teen Titans section for a story introducing my Green Lantern character Alisha who's actually already appeared in the Christmas fic I put up over there. This will just explain where she came from and all that good stuff. So be on the look out for "Girl in the Limelight".

In the meantime I'm sure I'll write up a few more Kim Possible fics for my "Maternal Instinct: Spotlight" fic and I'm sure there are plenty of people who will be happy to hear about that. I might also have a few more fics for my "The Batman" universe here. I mean, at the very least I need to do a sequel to this one cause I can't leave it like this, can I? Nope I can't. Gotta get Babs and Ivy back together again because they're just so much fun to write together. How will that happen exactly? Well I'm still working on that. Let's just say I have some very interesting ideas. Yes indeed.

Oh the song I used real quick there was Air Supply's classic, "I'm All Out of Love". It just seemed appropriate for that scene and it's always fun to use it. At least I think so. Hopefully you guys thought so as well.

Okay I better stop this rambling before this thing becomes as long as a Spoony vlog. I hope you all enjoyed this fic and I'll see you all in the Teen Titans section in September. If not sometime before then.

Later.


End file.
